Realising Prevention: Extent of the Pressure Injury/Ulcer Issue

Pressure injuries/ulcers (PIU) are a widespread and serious complication of reduced patient mobility. Annually, PI/Us occur in more than 2.5 million US patients, of whom approximately 60,000 die due to infection and other sequelae (Berlowitz et al., 2014). While in Europe the mean prevalence was reported at 13.15 (Moore et al 2019). Due to the substantial impacts of PI/Us on patient quality of life, recovery, and lengths of stay, PI/U prevention is prioritized by providers and policy makers^i,ii. The United States’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’ (AHRQ) statistics, however, show PI/Us being the only Hospital Acquired Condition whose incidence worsened during 2014-17ⁱⁱⁱ. The overall costs of PI/Us in the USA are estimated to exceed $26.8 billion^iv with per-patient costs ranging from $500 to $70,000^v. Dealey. et al (2004 ) reported that up to £2.1 billion is spent annually on treating PI/PUs, equates to approximately £3.8m per day.