11/30/2023
After informing a colleague today that you do NOT stage mucosal pressure injuries regardless of it being a pressure injury I figured I’d post this info on here too in case anyone reading this ever had this debate.
***Info taken directly from wound source and the NPUAP***
Mucosal membrane P*s manifest differently from P*s of the skin. The erythema present in stage 1 pressure injuries is not visible in a mucosal membrane PI, nor is wound depth, because of the anatomy of the tissue, but pain and swelling are present. To complicate assessment further, mucosal membrane P*s often bleed, leading to blood clots, or coagulum, which resemble the yellow, loosely adherent look of slough in the wound bed. Because of the anatomic properties of mucosal tissue, the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel classifies these injuries as non stageable.
The position of the NPUAP is that pressure ulcers on mucosal surfaces are not to be staged using the pressure ulcer staging system. It is understood that these ulcers may indeed be due to pressure, however anatomically analogous tissue comparisons cannot be made. Further, it is NPUAP’s position that mucosal pressure ulcers not be classified as partial or full thickness, because the clinical assessment of the tissue does not allow the distinction. Therefore, the position of NPUAP is that pressure ulcers on mucous membranes be labeled as mucosal pressure ulcers without a stage identified.
Mucosal membrane pressure injuries are device-related pressure injuries (DRPI) of the mucous membrane. These hospital-acquired injuries are generally considered preventable.