Pressure Ulcer Incidence and Blood Lactate Levels in Intensive Care Unit Patients

Introduction: Pressure ulcers are an important indicator of hospital care quality and a costly complication of intensive care. The incidence of PU is influenced by individual patient factors and the type of treatment used. Patients after surgery have been shown to have reduced albumin levels and elevated blood lactate levels. Increased lactate levels are associated with tissue hypoxia, increased morbidity and mortality. Aim: The aim of the study was to establish the relationship between the incidence of pressure ulcers and blood lactate levels in intensive care unit patients. Material and Methods: Our retrospective and non-randomized study was conducted among 125 patients treated at the Department of Anesthesiology of the 4th Military Teaching Hospital in Wroclaw between 2019 and 2020. The inclusion criteria were as follows: the use of intubation, analgosedation and vasopressors during intensive care treatment. The patients were divided into three main groups, which were each divided into two subgroups differing in blood lactate levels. We analyzed the patients’ lactate levels, as measured by arterial blood gas analysis, and monitored their pressure ulcers using their medical records: the pressure ulcer monitoring chart, the Waterlow pressure ulcer risk assessment chart, history of present illness and medical history. Results: Lactate levels in the patients studied ranged between 0.2 and 30.0 mmol/l. The incidence of pressure ulcers in ICU patients is 8.8%. Conclusion: The incidence of pressure ulcers in ICU patients is not different from the incidence rates reported in the literature. The study did not show a correlation between the patients’ arterial blood lactate levels and the incidence of pressure ulcers. Considering the low expected values due to the small number of patients in each subgroup, the findings should be treated with caution. Given the importance of pressure ulcers, a larger population study covering a longer period of time seems warranted.