Sacral Ulcer Development Risk Among Older Adult Patients in North Texas Rehabilitation Hospitals: Role of Comorbidities, Lifestyle, and Personal Factors

PURPOSE: Sacral ulcers are a serious mortality risk for older adults; thus, we aimed to determine sacral ulcer risk factors among older adults who were recently admitted to rehabilitation hospitals. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Texas Inpatient Discharge database (2021). The study included 1,290 rehabilitation hospital patients aged ≥60 years diagnosed with sacral ulcers. The control group comprised 37,626 rehabilitation hospital patients aged ≥60 years without sacral ulcers. Binary logistic regression was used to identify risks for sacral ulcer development adjusting for patient demographics, insurance type, and lifestyle. RESULTS: Comorbidities of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and cardiac dysrhythmias were significantly associated with increased risk of sacral ulcers. Longer length of stay, Medicare, and Medicare HMO were also associated with sacral ulcers. Demographically, older age, male sex, identifying as African American, and having malnutrition all had a 50% increased prevalence of sacral ulcers. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate a need to proactively treat chronic comorbidities in vulnerable populations to reduce their possible risk for hospital-acquired infections and excess mortality from sacral ulcers. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 50(2), 32-41.].