**1. Introduction**

Pressure ulcers, also referred to as decubitus ulcers, pressure sores or bed sores and recently referred to as pressure injures by the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) [1], are a common occurrence in all health care settings, including acute care hospitals, long‐term care facilities, rehabilitation centers and subacute care centers [2]. Pressure ulcers have a significant impact on patients, families and health care facilities. These wounds can cause pain and suffering to individuals, produce emotional distress for families and significant others, increase the length of a hospital stay and increase the costs to facilities. The incidence of a pressure ulcer can also lead health care providers to feel as though they have failed to deliver

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

quality care to those who have been entrusted to their care [3]. It is important to identify individuals who are at risk for pressure ulcer development or those who have developed a pressure ulcer, in order to implement preventative or treatment measures; these individuals also require close monitoring.
