Incidence and risk factors for pressure injury in hospitalized non-small cell lung cancer patients: A retrospective observational study

Aim: This study aimed to identify the incidence and risk factors for pressure injury in patients hospitalized for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted in 645 adults who were hospitalized for NSCLC. Clinicopathological characteristics were compared between NSCLC patients with pressure injury and those without pressure injury. Results: Among total 645 patients, 180 patients showed pressure injury with an incidence of 27.9%. Patients with pressure injury showed increased serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (P < 0.001), increased neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (P = 0.002), and increased platelet-lymphocyte ratio (P = 0.001) more often. Increase in serum CRP levels at the time of admission was the major risk factor for development of pressure injury in NSCLC patients (OR = 2.20; 95% CI [1.40–3.45]; P = 0.001). Also, among major inflammatory markers, serum CRP levels at the time of admission showed weak negative correlation with the period from admission to the development of pressure injury (r = −0.216, P = 0.004). Conclusion: By checking serum CRP levels at the time of admission, the NSCLC patients at high risk for the development of pressure injury can be identified in advance and the occurrence of pressure injury can be reduced by applying more active preventive nursing care. Clinical trial registration number: KCT0006570.