DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATING A PREDICTING SCALE FOR PRESSURE ULCER IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

A valid and trustworthy instrument allows for the accurate assessment of a patient's potential or real risk to develop pressure ulcers. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the validity and reliability of the Predicting Scale for Pressure Ulcer [ECRUPP] to evaluate the risk for developing pressure ulcers among hospitalized adult patients in the Universidad Católica [UC. This scale was created because of the difficulties in the application of the Braden Scale We compared the ECRUPP and Braden with nursing criteria, the ladder being considered the Gold Standard. This study was conducted in october2004. lt uses a cross-sectional, observational, comparative and analytical design, with n=103 hospitalized patients from nine clinical units in the hospital. The statistical validation was done in 2006 and the main results were the following: agreement between Braden and ECRUPP with a Kappa index of 0.249, ECRUPP and nursing criteria with a Kappa Index of 0.79 and nursing criteria and Braden with 0.316; sensitivity and specificity compared with Gold Standard: ECRUPP 75 of sensitivity and 95,8% of specificity and Braden 59,4% of sensitivity and 98,6% of specificity; trustworthiness Alpha Index Cronbach of 0.78. According to these results, ECRUPP detects a higher percentage ofpeople who present risk for developing pressure ulcers and has specificity similar to that of the Braden scale. ECRUPP reflects better agreement with nursing criteria when compared to the Braden