skin disorders
Pressure Sores
Diagnosis of Pressure Sores
A doctor's evaluation Staging of the sore Assessment of nutrition status Sometimes blood tests and magnetic resonance imaging Doctors can usually diagnose pressure sores by doing a physical examination and noting the appearance and location of the sores. Because the depth and severity of pressure sores are difficult to determine, doctors or specially trained health care professionals stage and photograph pressure sores to monitor how they progress or heal. Doctors use specific criteria to determine how a pressure sore is healing. Doctors also assess people for their nutrition status by examining them and asking about their food intake and weight changes. People with pressure sores, especially those with stage 3 or 4 sores, sometimes have blood tests. Sometimes a blood sample is cultured to see whether infection has spread to the bloodstream. People who are undernourished are Testing . When pressure sores do not heal, doctors often suspect a complication such as an infection. If osteomyelitis is suspected, doctors do blood tests and often the imaging test Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (MRI). To confirm osteomyelitis, doctors may need to take a small sample (biopsy) of bone to see if bacteria grow from it (culture). 