Bedsores (pressure sores)

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Complications

By Mayo Clinic staff

Even the most conscientious care can't always prevent serious or life-threatening infections of your skin, muscle or bone. Complications include:

  • Cellulitis. This acute infection of your skin's connective tissue causes pain, redness and swelling, all of which can be severe. Cellulitis can also lead to life-threatening complications, including sepsis and meningitis — an infection of the membrane and fluid surrounding your brain and spinal cord.
  • Bone and joint infections. These develop when the infection from a bedsore burrows deep into your joints and bones. Joint infections (septic or infectious arthritis) can damage cartilage and tissue, whereas bone infections (osteomyelitis) may reduce the function of your joints and limbs.
  • Sepsis. One of the greatest dangers of an advanced pressure sore, sepsis occurs when bacteria enters your bloodstream through the broken skin and spreads throughout your body — a rapidly progressing, life-threatening condition that can cause shock and organ failure.
  • Cancer. This is usually an aggressive carcinoma affecting the skin's squamous cells.
Tests and diagnosis Risk factors

  • See Also

    • Hand Scheduled
    Section Focus
  • Sepsis

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References
  1. Berlowitz D. Pressure ulcers: Staging; epidemiology; pathogenesis; clinical manifestations. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 30, 2009.
  2. Pressure ulcers. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec10/ch126/ch126a.html. Accessed Feb. 2, 2009.
  3. Bluestein D. Pressure ulcers: Prevention, evaluation, and management. American Family Physician. 2008;78:1186.
  4. Abrams GM. Chronic complications of spinal cord injury. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 30, 2009.
  5. Garcia AD. Assessment and management of chronic pressure ulcers in the elderly. The Medical Clinics of North America. 2006;90:928.
  6. Tleyjeh I. Infectious complications of pressure ulcers. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 30, 2009.
  7. Berlowitz D. Treatment of pressure ulcers. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 30, 2009.
  8. Berlowitz D. Prevention of pressure ulcers. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 30, 2009.
  9. Reddy M. Treatment of pressure ulcers: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008;300:2647.
  10. Phillips TJ, et al. Decubitus (pressure) ulcers. In: Wolff K, et al. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2980481. Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
  11. Wolff K, et al. Skin signs of vascular insufficiency. In: Wolff K, et al. Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical Pub. Division; 2005. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=753150. Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
  12. Johnston C, et al. Geriatric disorders. In: McPhee SJ, et al. In: Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment. Los Altos, Calif.: Lange Medical Publications; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=348. Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
  13. Pressure ulcer stages revised by NPUAP. National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel. http://www.npuap.org/pr2.htm. Accessed Feb. 16, 2009.

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March 31, 2009

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