Pressure Ulcers in a Sample of Iraqi Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Background: Pressure injury is the most common preventable secondary complication of spinal cord injury and may lead to serious. Aims of the study: To determine the prevalence, grade, number and most common sites of pressure ulcer in people with spinal cord injury. Patients and Method: This study carried out at Ibn Alkuff Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, during the period from 1st of November 2017 to the 1st of July 2018. A total sample of 100 patients was included in this descriptive cross-sectional study. Pressure ulcer was diagnosed by physical examination and graded according to the classification system for pressure ulcer by the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP). Special scale was included in this study to assess spinal cord injury impairment (American spinal injury association scale (ASIA). Results: Forty patients were having a pressure ulcer. This study showed these pressure ulcers more frequent in ASIA score (A) followed by (B) and (C). The results showed no statistically significant association between age, gender, duration of spinal cord injury and causes of spinal cord injury in determining the presence of pressure ulcer (p=0.089, p=0.57, p=0.214 and p=0.57 respectively). Conclusions: Pressure ulcers are one of common secondary complication that occurs in 40% of Iraqi patients with spinal cord injury with more frequency in ASIA scale A and B spinal cord injury especially in sacral area and most of the patients presented with one ulcer only.