[Pressure sores in a psychiatric hospital: a report of 10 years of systematic decubitus treatment].

Ten years of systematic treatment of pressure sores in a general psychiatric hospital (1983-1992) are reported on. Most of the patients were aged 65 years or older. The prevalence of pressure sores among them varied between 1.4 and 3.8%, whilst among younger patients the prevalence varied between 0 and 0.8%. Over the reported ten years the seriousness of the wounds decreased and prognoses improved. The percentage of healed patients increased from 56 in 1983 to round about 80 in the last few years. Over the years the number of patients with new pressure sores showed a varying course.