Abstract: Objective To analyze the relevant indicators of hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) in the elderly patients, and to provide a basis for clinical prevention and management. Methods A retrospective analysis of the data of 49 elderly patients with stage 2 or above HAPI in Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from 2021 to 2023 was conducted. The clinical characteristics of the patients with HAPI were analyzed, and Apriori algorithm was used to analyze the causal factors in adverse event reports system. Results Among the 49 patients, 53 pressure injuries occurred, 92.45%(49/53) being stage 2 pressure injuries, and 35.85% (19/53) occurring at the sacral area. Most patients were from Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and surgical wards. 81.63%(40/49) of the patients had a hemoglobin level of less than 120 g/L, and 75.51%(37/49) had a serum albumin level of less than 35 g/L. Braden Scale assessment showed that almost half of the patients were defined as low risk. Apriori algorithm association analysis identified 23 pairs of strong-association risk factors during nursing process. Conclusions In response to the physiological characteristics of elderly patients, clinical practice should focus on the prevention and management of high-risk wards and populations, strengthen nutritional management and skin condition monitoring, and scientifically formulate pressure injury prevention and management plans. At the same time, it is necessary to combine clinical judgment to optimize risk assessment and reduce the incidence of HAPI.

Key words: hospital-acquired pressure injury, clinical characteristics, risk assessment, nursing management