Prevalence of pressure ulcers at hospital discharge in chile: indicator trend from 2001 to 2019

Objective: To analyze the trend in the prevalence of pressure ulcers in Chile and its regions according to hospital discharges. Material and Method: Ecological time series study, which analyzed the prevalence of pressure ulcers between 2001 and 2019. A descriptive, bivariate and linear analysis of trends was carried out. The latter with the Prais Winsten auto-regression method, calculating the annual percentage change (APC) and its 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: The sample was 11,060 cases. 55.2% (6,103) were men, the average age was 60 years (± 27.5) and the hospital stay was 21.80 (± 35,084) days, being significantly longer in those with pressure injuries (p< 0.001). There is a growing and significant trend in the prevalence of pressure ulcers in Chile and all its regions, with an average of 11.33% interannual growth (APC= 0.0019; 95% CI= 0.0016-0.0022). Conclusion: The results are not encouraging despite the increase in notification of prevention measures and standardization of care.