Introduction:

Pressure ulcers (PU) are a major health problem in all Health Systems. That is why the Committee of Experts in UPP and Wound Nurses of the Argentine Nursing Federation (CEECUPPYH-FAE) decided to initiate a specific national strategy on the UPP problem, "The National Marathon: The First Step". In the present article we present the data corresponding to the first national study of PUs prevalence in the Argentine Republic as the starting point of our national marathon.

Methodology:

For this purpose, a national study was proposed with the following objectives: to obtain Epidemiological Indicators on PUs in Health Institutions of the Argentine Republic, to identify the risk of suffering PU, to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients of the prevalent patients, to determine the characteristics of identified lesions and to identify measures used in PU's prevention.A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted through an online survey of Nursing Professionals between June 1 and July 30, 2018, using EPUAP-NPUAP classification guidelines and GNEAUPP indicators.

Results:

There were 200 nurses who surveyed 3755 surveys in 22 of the country's 24 provinces. The Gross Prevalence of PUs was 22.55% in adult patients, of which 48.3% of prevalent patients had developed nosocomial PUs. 57% of the sample is old enough to retire (+ 60 years), 70% belongs to general services. The most frequent lesion locations were sacrum, heels and trochanteres respectively. The prevalence of PUs in paediatric patients was 8.35%; 69.4% of paediatric prevalent patients presented nosocomial PUs. 76% of the prevalent pediatric patients were hospitalized in general care and 66% had a low risk of UPP. The most frequent locations were head, sacrum and heels.The gross prevalence of PUs in neoonates was 4.15%, all of them presenting nosocomial PUs. Sixty-six percent of neonates were at risk of PU and the most frequent locations were head and sacrum.

Conclusions:

"The National Marathon: The first step" is the First National Argentinian Research Study on PUs where nurses from all over the country participated and has allowed to obtain national prevalence figures, as well as prevention trends, which without a doubt is a very useful information to establish national strategies for the improvement of the PUs problem and to monitor this problem in Argentina.

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