Pressure injuries
Staging (stages 1 to 4, unstageable, deep tissue, device-related and mucosal), risk screening and assessment under the 2026 international guideline, prevention bundles, nutrition, wound care, osteomyelitis, and Australian reporting as a hospital-acquired complication and aged care quality indicator.
Tier 1Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Localised damage to skin and underlying tissue, usually over a bony prominence or under a medical device, from sustained pressure, often with shear.
- Commonest sites: sacrum and coccyx, heels, ischial tuberosities, greater trochanters; ears and nose under oxygen tubing and masks.
- Older, immobile, malnourished, incontinent and acutely unwell people are most at risk. A stage 3 injury can form within hours on an emergency trolley or after a long lie.
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Sources
- Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries: Clinical Practice Guideline, 4th editionAU/NZEPUAP, NPIAP and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance (PPPIA), 2025 to 2026 (published online in chapters: support surfaces Feb 2025, repositioning and nutrition Aug 2026; Quick Reference Guide final version Sept 2026)
- Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries: Clinical Practice Guideline, 3rd editionEPUAP, NPIAP and PPPIA, 2019
- National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (Comprehensive Care Standard)AU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2nd edition (2021)
- Hospital-acquired complications (HACs) listAU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
- National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program) ManualAU/NZAustralian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
- A nutritional formula enriched with arginine, zinc, and antioxidants for the healing of pressure ulcers: a randomised trial (OEPI) (Cereda E et al. Ann Intern Med 2015;162:167-74)Annals of Internal Medicine, 2015
- Therapeutic Guidelines: Ulcer and Wound Management (eTG complete)AU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited, topic version not verified
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy