Why are hospitals so interested in Prevention Pressure Injuries

We dug into the latest research on pressure injuries—and the numbers tell a sobering story. The familiar ‘2.5 million cases per year’ is still widely cited, but the true burden is likely higher and uneven across settings. Here’s what the most current data actually show, and why it matters for every patient, caregiver, and healthcare facility.

Sources: 

• AHRQ overview (still cites “>2.5M/year”)
• 2025 Scientific Reports (U.S. adults ≥60: ~619,543 cases; ~759/100k in 2021)
• JAMA Net Open 2023 (nursing-home under-reporting of pressure ulcers)

As of today, it is estimated that 1–3 million people in the U.S. develop a pressure injury each year. Among adults over 60, that number was about 619,543 in 2021, with an incidence rate of ~759 per 100,000. Globally, deaths related to pressure injury complications have increased from 16,600 in 1990 to about 37,000 in 2021.

Current rates of pressure injury development in U.S. healthcare facilities vary from as little as 2% of total patients to as high as 14% in acute care settings. In critical care units, prevalence runs about 14.3%, with hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) at ~5.85%. Mortality for people who develop full-thickness ulcers is extremely high—78% die within one year, and over 83% within two years.

Due to reporting inconsistencies, the true number of people who suffer pressure injuries each year is difficult to know for sure, but it is far more than the old estimate of 2.5 million.

Pressure injuries are considered avoidable with appropriate care. Pressure injury occurrence in healthcare facilities is an indicator of the quality of caregiving provided by bedside caregiver staff.

High PI rates are considered a sign of neglect. Facilities with high rates are subject to reduced reimbursements, penalties, and lawsuits. In extreme cases they can be shut down.

Sources:

• NCBI – Pressure Ulcers(U.S. incidence 1–3 million annually)
• Nature Scientific Reports, 2025(Adults 60+ incidence ~619,543 in 2021)
• Frontiers in Public Health, 2025(Global deaths from decubitus ulcers rose to ~37,000)
• Journal of WOCN, 2021(Acute care prevalence ~14.3%, HAPI ~5.85%)
• HMP Global(Full-thickness PI mortality: 78% at 1 year, 83.8% at 2 years)