Which pressure sore risk calculator? A study of the effectiveness of the Norton scale in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Norton score in predicting the likely occurrence of pressure sores compared to the Waterlow scale in Hong Kong. Two elderly care wards (one male and one female) were chosen, the sample size was 185 and the mean age of subjects was 80.4. Each newly admitted patient was assessed using both the Norton calculation and the Waterlow calculation. At the end of the research, there were eight patients who had sore formation. The results indicated that the Norton score identified six out of the eight patients while the Waterlow identified seven of them. The Waterlow calculation, however, seems to have misidentified 72 patients as being in the 'at risk group'. In view of a fear of the misdirection of resources the Norton score was found to be the better of the two and its use in the elderly care units in this study should be continued until a better scoring system is found.