Hospitalizations Related to Pressure Ulcers Among Adults 18 Years and Older, 2006

Highlights „ In 2006, there were 503,300 total hospital stays with pressure ulcers noted as a diagnosis—an increase of nearly 80 percent since 1993. Adult stays totaled $11 billion in hospital costs. „ More than 90 percent of pressure ulcer-related stays among adults were for the principal treatment of other conditions, such as septicemia, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection. „ Compared to stays for all other conditions, stays related to pressure ulcers were more often discharged to a long-term care facility and more likely to result in death. „ Nearly three out of four adult patients hospitalized with a secondary pressure ulcer diagnosis (72 percent) were 65 years and older. In contrast, 56.5 percent of adult patients with a principal diagnosis of pressures ulcers were 65 or older. „ Billed for three out of four hospitalizations, Medicare was the most common payer of adult stays related to pressure ulcers. „ Paralysis and spinal cord injury were common co-existing conditions among younger adults hospitalized principally for pressure ulcers, while fluid and electrolyte disorders, nutritional disorders, diabetes without complications, and dementia were more often seen among patients 65 and older. Introduction Pressure ulcers typically result from prolonged periods of uninterrupted pressure on the skin, soft tissue, muscle, and bone. Vulnerable patients include the elderly, stroke victims, patients with diabetes, those with dementia, and people who use wheelchairs or who are bedridden—any patient with impaired mobility or sensation. Pressure ulcers cause extreme discomfort to the patient and often lead to serious, life threatening infections, which substantially increase the total cost of care. Moreover, the presence of pressure ulcers can be indicative of the quality of care received by patients at home or in health care facilities, such as nursing homes and hospitals. Though hospital discharge data with a principal diagnosis of a pressure ulcer clearly specifies that the patient was admitted to the hospital with a pre-existing pressure ulcer, a secondary diagnosis of a pressure is more ambiguous. A secondary diagnosis may indicate that the pressure ulcer developed during the hospitalization, or it might designate the presence of a pressure ulcer before admission. This Statistical Brief presents data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) on patterns of utilization and costs for adult hospital stays involving the treatment of pressure ulcers in 2006. 1 Variation in the characteristics of stays principally for pressure ulcers and hospitalizations with a secondary diagnosis of pressure …