Background: Risk assessment is recommended as the foremost step in the prevention of pressure ulcers. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive efficacy of the Braden Q Scale for the assessment of pediatric pressure ulcer risk in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Methods: Six databases were searched. A meta-analysis was performed using Meta DiSc 1.4.
Results: Seven studies were included, with a total of 1273 cases and 72 pressure ulcers. The meta-analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity and specificity of the Braden Q Scale for PICU patients were 0.72 and 0.60 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60-0.82; 0.57-0.63), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 1.69, 0.62, and 3.34 (95% CI: 1.18-2.42; 0.40-0.94; 1.47-7.61), respectively. The area under the curve of summary receiver operating characteristics was 69.18%, and the Q index was 0.6464.
Conclusion: The Braden Q Scale predicted pressure ulcer risk in the PICU with moderate accuracy. More testing for the Braden QD Scale's performance is needed, taking into account the impact of the interventions. In the future, it will be necessary to look for and improve pediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment tools.