http://goo.gl/Ika5fg
As a geriatric fellow back in the 1980's I became intrigued by the wide prevalence of pressure ulcers and how little literature there was on this disease. Three decades later, they have not gone away and it amazes me that they are not on the list of recognized public health threats.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research, pressure ulcers affect up to 2.5 million patient per year, and related costs range from $9.1 to $11.6 billion per year in the US. Complications include pain, scarring, infection, prolonged rehabilitation, and permanent disability. They are largely preventable, and 60,000 patients die as a direct result of pressure ulcers each year. They are common across the healthcare continuum, and as many as 42% of patients in ICUs and 28% of hospice patients have pressure sores. According to a recent NPUAP monograph, pressure ulcer prevalence in long-term care ranges from 4.1% to 32.2%. Pressure ulcers are closely associated with the perception of quality, and have become a risk-management burden for practitioners and facilities caring for patients with this disease. Despite these pressing concerns, pressure ulcers are not on the research funding agenda of the CDC.
The statistics on pressure ulcers are eye-opening when compared to other, more widely recognized public health threats including influenza and gun related deaths. Influenza results in 36,000 deaths per year, and deaths in America from guns number roughly 32,000 per year. Pressure ulcers therefore cause nearly as many deaths per year as influenza and guns combined. The 2016 fiscal year budget for the CDC includes a request for $10 million for gun violence prevention research. There is already $187.5 million allocated for influenza planning and response. But there are no CDC funds allocated or requested for research on prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers.