Prevalence of pressure ulcers in Thai wheelchair users with chronic spinal cord injuries

This study investigates the prevalence of pressure ulcers (PrUs) among Thai wheelchair users with chronic spinal cord injuries (SCI). It also examines the impact of PrUs and different wheelchair cushions on their quality of life (QoL). The study found that a significant percentage of participants had current or healed PrUs. It also compared the QoL and health status between those with and without PrUs, as well as between users of foam and air-filled cushions. The researchers observed that anxiety/depression was significantly associated with current PrUs. Although air-filled cushions appeared to improve QoL compared to foam cushions, the difference was not statistically significant in this study.

• 1
  26.4% of participants had current pressure ulcers at the time of the study.
• 2
  Anxiety/depression was significantly associated with current pressure ulcers (P = 0.015).
• 3
  Those using air-filled cushions had a mean utility score four times higher than those using foam cushions, although this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.089).