Incidence, severity and characteristics of medical device-related pressure injuries in adult intensive care patients: A single-centre, cross-sectional study

Aim: This study aimed to determine the incidence, severity and characteristics of medical device-related pressure injuries in intensive care units. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from 187 patients admitted to the Anaesthesia and Reanimation intensive care unit of a university hospital between January and May 2023. The skin of the patients enrolled in the study was assessed for the presence of medical device-related pressure injuries, and all medical devices used were recorded. Data were collected using the Patient Identification Form, the Medical Device-Related Pressure Injury Follow-up Form, and the Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Ulcer Risk. Results: It was found that 30.6% of the patients developed medical device-related pressure injuries; of these, 73.7% had stage I pressure injuries. We found that 36.8% of the patients were diagnosed with medical device-related pressure injuries within 8-11 days. The results showed that endotracheal tube (61.4%), non-invasive ventilation/oxygen mask (52.6%), Foley catheter (49.1%), and nasogastric tube (36.8%) devices were the most common causes of the development of medical device-related pressure injuries. Patients' demographic characteristics were found to have a significant effect on the development of medical device-related pressure injuries (p < .05). Conclusion: The study found that the incidence of medical device-related pressure injuries was relatively high and that a relationship was observed between the patients' demographic characteristics and medical device-related pressure injuries. It is crucial that ICU nurses, who are more likely to encounter medical device-related pressure injuries, consider these factors when caring for their patients and take appropriate preventive measures to reduce the incidence of these injuries.