Prediction of pressure sore development.

. The condition of 515 consecutive patients newly admitted to the long-term medical ward was followed weekly during a 26-week maximum observation period. A modified Norton scale consisting of eight variables and constructed as an additive scale was used. Serum albumin level and skin test on admission supplemented the information about the nutritional state. Eighty-three patients (16%) had skin lesions classified as pressure sores on admission and 39 patients (7.6%) developed pressure sores during the observation period. It could be shown that those who developed pressure sores during the observation period, had a lower functional level when they arrived and that this deteriorated up until the time that the pressure sore was recorded. It could also be demonstrated that low serum albumin and anergy, as indicators of poor nutritional status, had value as predictors for the development of pressure lesions. General physical condition, activity, mobility and nutritional status appear to be the most important factors in the development of pressure sores in this study. The systematic planning of care with special emphasis on the four above-named risk factors, can probably decrease the risk for the development of pressure sores.