Open AccessLower temperature at the wound edge detected by thermography predicts undermining development in pressure ulcers: a pilot study
Author(s) -
Kanazawa Toshiki,
Kitamura Aya,
Nakagami Gojiro,
Goto Taichi,
Miyagaki Tomomitsu,
Hayashi Akitatsu,
Sasaki Sanae,
Mugita Yuko,
Iizaka Shinji,
Sanada Hiromi
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international wound journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1742-481X
pISSN - 1742-4801
DOI - 10.1111/iwj.12454
Subject(s) - medicine , thermography , predictive value , confidence interval , wound healing , retrospective cohort study , surgery , skin temperature , debridement (dental) , biomedical engineering , physics , infrared , optics
Undermined pressure ulcers ( PUs ) are troublesome complications that are likely to delay wound healing. Early skin incision and debridement can prevent the deterioration of undermined PUs , thus it is necessary to identify devitalised tissue areas to determine the appropriate timing for such interventions. This retrospective cohort study evaluated whether a lower temperature at the wound edge than the wound bed and periwound skin, detected by thermography, can predict undermining development in PUs 1 week after the assessment. Twenty‐two participants with category III , IV , or unstageable PUs who were examined by interdisciplinary PU team and were followed up for at least two consecutive weeks were analysed. We found 9/11 PUs without a lower temperature at the wound edge did not develop undermining development, whereas 8/11 PUs with the lower temperature did develop undermining. The relative risk of undermining development after 1 week in PUs with the lower temperature was 4·00 (95% confidence intervals: 1·08–14·7). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 0·80, 0·75, 0·73 and 0·81, respectively. A thermal imaging assessment focusing on a lower temperature pattern at the wound edge may provide sufficient information to predict undermining development.