Determining Optimal Cut-off Score for the Braden Scale on Assessment of Pressure Injury for Tertiary Hospital Inpatients

Purpose : This study aims to establish an optimal cut-off score on the Braden scale for the assessment of pressure injury to detect pressure injury risks among inpatients in a South Korean tertiary hospital.Methods : This retrospective study used electronic medical records, from January to December 2022. A total of 654 patients were included in the study. Of these, 218 inpatients with pressure injuries and 436 without pressure injuries were classified and analyzed using 1:2 Propensity Score Matching (PSM), and the generalized estimating equation was performed using SPSS Version 26 and the R Machlt package program.Results : The cut-off value on the Braden scale for distinguishing pressure injury was 17 points, and the AUC (area under the ROC curve) was 0.531 (0.484–0.579). The sensitivity was 56.6% (45.5–67.7%) and the specificity was 69.7% (66.0– 73.4%). With 17 points, the Braden scale cut-off distinguished those who had pressure injuries from those who did not at the time of admission (p ＜ .03). In the pressure injury group, the Braden score on the day of the pressure injury was 14, with significant results in all subcategories except the moisture category.Conclusion : Our findings revealed that a cut-off value of 17 was optimal for predicting the risk of pressure injuries among tertiary hospital inpatients. Future studies should evaluate the optimal cut-off values in different clinical environments. Additionally, it is necessary to conduct multicenter large sample studies to verify the effectiveness of a 17 value in PI risk assessments.