Skin temperature and vascular attributes as early warning signs of pressure injury.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to validate the skin temperature on sacral region and vascular attributes as early warning signs of pressure injury. METHODS: Totally 415 patients admitted to the adult intensive care unit from August 2018 to April 2019 were prospectively screened. Daily blood pressure and blood glucose affecting vascular attributes and the relative skin temperature of sacral region were measured for 10 consecutive days. Collect the changes of these indicators during the occurrence of pressure injury. The optimal cut-off values of indicators were determined by X-tile analysis. The risk ratios of indicators associated with pressure injury were compared using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: There were no obvious interactions among blood pressure, blood glucose and relative skin temperature (P > 0.05). The optimal cutoff value for above indicators was 63.5 mmHg, 9.9 mmol/L and -0.1 °C, respectively. The incidence of pressure injury peaked on the 4th and 5th day after hospitalization when categorizing the patients into low- and high-risk groups according to the cutoff values (P < 0.05). Based on relative skin temperature, patients in the high-risk group were more likely to develop pressure injury (hazard ratio = 6.36, 95% confidence interval = 3.91, 10.36), when compared to the other two indicators of blood pressure and blood glucose. CONCLUSION: Stringent skin temperature and vascular attributes measurements were necessary for preventing pressure injury. Nursing measures should be taken according to warning sings to reduce the incidence of pressure injury.