Factors that contribute to pressure sores in surgical patients.

In this prospective study examination was made of whether (a) time on the operating table, (b) proportion of intraoperative diastolic hypotensive episodes, (c) age, (d) preoperative serum albumin, (e) preoperative total protein levels, and (f) preoperative Braden scores could identify those patients who do and do not develop pressure sores during elective surgery. The stratified sample consisted of 125 adult patients. Fifteen patients (12%) developed a total of 23 pressure sores. A discriminant function using time on the operating table, extracorporeal circulation, and age emerged as the best predictor correctly classifying 12 of 15 patients who developed pressure sores and 83 of 110 patients who remained pressure sore free.