Stage I Assessment in Darkly Pigmented Skin-1998

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel convened a task force to review the definition of Stage I pressure ulcer and determine the adequacy of this definition in assessing individuals with darkly pigmented skin. Following a comprehensive review of the literature and peer review by attendees at the Fifth National NPUAP Conference in February, 1997, the NPUAP Task Force on Darkly Pigmented Skin and Stage I Pressure Ulcers1 drafted the following new definition for Stage I pressure ulcers, which was approved by the NPUAP Board of Directors in February 1998.

A Stage I pressure ulcer is an observable pressure related
alteration of intact skin whose indicators as compared to the
adjacent or opposite area on the body may include changes in
one or more of the following:

• Skin temperature (warmth or coolness), tissue consistency (firm or boggy feel) and/or sensation (pain, itching).
• The ulcer appears as a defined area of persistent redness in lightly pigmented skin, whereas in darker skin tones, the ulcer may appear with persistent red, blue, or purple hues.

The NPUAP has NOT CHANGED the definition of Stage II to IV pressure ulcers.

1Task force members included Elizabeth A. Ayello, PhD, RN, CS, CETN (Chair); Cynthia T. Henderson MD, MPH; M. Alisan Bennett, EdD, RN; Stephen Sprigle, PhD, Carrie Sussman, PT; Diane Merkle Leiby, RN; Courtney H. Lyder, ND, MS; Lynda Woodruff, PhD, PT (representing the APTA); and Estrella Ferrer Dungog, EdD, RN (representing the Filipino Nurses Association).


Source: www.npuap.org