Association between incontinence, incontinence-associated dermatitis and pressure injuries: A multisite study among hospitalised patients 65 years or older

Abstract

Background/Objectives: A secondary data analysis of data collected in a cross-sectional, multisite study was conducted in hospitals to investigate the association between incontinence (INC), incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) and (hospital-acquired) pressure injuries (PI) in the sacrum/buttock region in patients aged 65 years or older. Methods: We could include 11,317 older patients in this study. For data collection purposes, a standardized questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and data on medical diagnoses, degree of care dependency, INC, IAD and PI. Data analyses were done by conducting descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses and linear and multivariable logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of pressure injuries was 4.8%, with 1.7% of all hospital patients (≥65 years) developing a hospital‐acquired pressure injury. Patients with an incontinence‐associated dermatitis had a lower risk (OR 0.200; CI 0.087–0.456) of having a pressure injury (acquired outside of hospital) in the sacral or buttock regions than patients without an incontinence‐associated dermatitis. Conclusions: Our results showed that incontinence‐associated dermatitis was associated with a lower risk for pressure injuries in the sacral or buttock regions (acquired outside of hospital).