Pressure Ulcer Patients in Outpatient Hospital Settings: A Risk Factor Analysis

The majority of research examining pressure ulcer (PU) risk factors focuses on patients admitted to inpatient hospital settings or nursing homes with few studies focusing on patients in the outpatient hospital settings. The aim of this study was to explore risk factors associated with PU patients admitted to outpatient hospital settings across the nation.  Patients with a primary diagnosis of PU who were admitted to an outpatient hospital setting were sampled from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Of the 404 identified PU patients included in the sample the majority were male (52%, n = 210), White (79%, n = 300), and 60 years of age or older (60%, n = 242). Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and c² analyses were performed to investigate possible associations between age (59 years or younger versus 60 years or older) and patient characteristics (i.e., body temperature, blood pressure, number of comorbidities, number of surgeries, vasopressor use, vascular disease, and diabetes). Patients 60 years of age or older versus those 59 or younger were found to be primarily female and White.  The older patients were also found to have more comorbidities, lower diastolic blood pressure, lower body temperatures, and a hypertension diagnosis. These findings were similar to other findings from inpatient settings suggesting that some PU patient characteristics are consistent across clinical settings.