Pressure ulcers represent a tremendous cost to patients and to American hospitals. Each year, approximately 1.6 million patients develop pressure ulcers in acute care settings, representing a cost of $2.2 to $3.6 billion to the U.S. health care system. This includes over 150,000 patients who develop Stage III and Stage IV ulcers.
Hospitals incur an incremental cost of approximately $125 to $200 for each Stage I and Stage II ulcer that develops and $14,000 to $23,000 for each Stage III and Stage IV ulcer. These ulcers cost the average hospital $400,000 to $700,000 per year. Of these ulcers, approximately 375,000 (23% of the total) start in patients undergoing surgeries of 3 hours or longer. Perhaps more importantly, patients undergoing longer surgeries represent up to 42% of the costs of ulcers that develop in the hospital.
Operating room (OR)-acquired pressure ulcers represent a direct cost to the U.S. health care system of $750 million to $1.5 billion annually. OR-acquired pressure ulcers also expose nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and facilities to significant litigation risk. In addition, these ulcers result in a significant degradation in a patient's health and negatively impact their lives well after the period of hospitalization. New strategies for minimizing the incidence of pressure ulcers in both medical and surgical patients should be tested.
