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Bed Sores Up 60 Percent From 1993 to 2003

Posted on: Tuesday, 18 April 2006, 18:00 CDT

Pressure sores in hospital patients increased 63 percent between 1993 and 2003, newly released federal statistics say.

The number of sores, also called decubitus ulcers or bed sores, rose from 280,000 cases in 1993 to 455,000 cases in 2003, the Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported Tuesday.

Pressure sores 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 are bedridden, in fact, any patient with impaired mobility or sensation.

Patients age 65 and older accounted for 72 percent of all hospitalizations studied where pressure sores were noted. About 19 percent of such stays were for patients 45 to 64 years of age.

Nearly 9 of every 10 hospital stays involving pressure ulcers were covered by government health programs -- 66 percent by Medicare and 23 percent by state Medicaid programs. Hospital charges for stays principally for treatment of pressure ulcers averaged $37,800, but average charges varied by payer; for example, the average charge to Medicaid was $39,100 while the average bill to the uninsured was $25,600.

Data for the study came from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database of hospital inpatient stays that is constructed to be nationally representative of all short-term, non-federal hospitals.

Source: United Press International

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