Incidence and Risk Factors of Operating Room–Acquired Pressure Injury: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Operating room–acquired pressure injury (PI) is defined as PI that develops within the first 48 to 72 hours after surgery. Purpose: To determine the incidence and risk factors of operating room–acquired PI. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a university hospital in Turkey between May 20, 2021, and December 20, 2021, and included 309 patients who met the inclusion criteria. The study was reported based on the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist for cross-sectional studies. Results: Operating room–acquired PI developed in 5.8% of the patients in this study. Moreover, 54.4% of the patients had medical devices, and medical device–acquired PI occurred in 4.2% of these patients (7/168). Patient age, hemodynamic parameters, and albumin level, as well as duration of surgery, were found to affect the development of operating room–acquired PI. Conclusion: Surgical nurses are responsible for both recognizing situations that may result in perioperative PI and taking necessary precautions. It is recommended that nurses identify existing and potential preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative risks that impair skin integrity and affect tissue oxygenation to reduce the risk of operating room–acquired PI.