Frequency of pressure ulcers and the factors associated with their presentation, in patients of a national hospital in Lima, Peru

Objectives: To determine the frequency of pressure ulcers (PU) and factors associated with in patients of a national hospital in Lima, Peru. Methods: Data from the Oficina de Inteligencia Sanitaria del Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati regarding PU per epidemiologic week during 2016 were gathered. Frequencies by hospitalization service were calculated using Social Science Statistics, Chi squared was used to compare proportions. Results: The services with the highest frequency of PU were the ICU (41.67%), general surgery (16.67%), internal medicine (9.52%) and obstetrics (6.4%); a statistical difference was found between the frequency of PU at ICU, general surgery, internal medicine vs. obstetrics (p<0.005). Conclusions: the frequency of PU correlated with the hospitalization service, being higher in the ICU, general surgery and internal medicine services compared to obstetric services. More than 70% of PUs occurred at no-obstetric services.