Objectives: To optimize the ability of the Waterlow Scale to predict indivi
duals vulnerable to developing pressure ulcers,
Design: Prospective cohort study. S
etting: Two acute care UK National Health Service (NHS) providers.
Subjects: Four hundred and twenty-two inpatients across five specialities (
general medicine, general surgery, orthopaedics, oncology and rehabilitatio
n).
Interventions: Waterlow scores recorded weekly for 14 days post admission t
o hospital. Main outcome measure: Development of a pressure ulcer,
Results: Nonlinear analysis using neural networks did not outperform linear
methods, Only five items out of 11 in the Waterlow Scale appeared to have
any classification ability in this patient population.
Conclusions: The Waterlow score when modelled as a linear equation appears
as effective as more complicated nonlinear mappings using neural networks,
Only a subset of the variables of the Waterlow Scale have predictive value
in this patient population, but this is a different subset to those found i
n a previous study of a different client group (wheelchair users).