Pressure ulcer prevalence among hospitalised adults in university hospitals in South-west Nigeria

Pressure ulcers are recognised universally as a largely preventable patient safety problem and a measure of the quality of care provided by health institutions. The prevalence of pressure ulcers among hospitalised patients in Nigeria has been sparingly reported. This study investigated the prevalence of Stages II to IV pressure ulcers among hospitalised adults in the six university hospitals in South-west Nigeria. Participants were all hospitalised adult patients in the six university hospitals in South-west Nigeria. Data collected included age, gender, anatomical location of the pressure ulcer, and presence/absence of a relative by the patient's bedside. The mean age of patients with Stage II pressure ulcer and higher was 47.0 +/- 21.2 years. Prevalence of Stages II to IV pressure ulcers ranged between 0% and 6.9% in the hospitals and overall prevalence was 3.22%. Prevalence rates in male and female patients were 3.59% and 2.83% respectively. The most common anatomical locations for pressure ulcer were the ischial tuberosity, sacrum and greater trochanter. Most (92.3%) of the patients that had pressure ulcers also had relatives staying at their bedsides. The prevalence of Stages I to IV pressure ulcers observed in this study was similar to rates reported from studies in which Stage I ulcers were similarly excluded while relatives' presence by patients' bedsides appeared not to have deterred the development of pressure ulcers.