Vasoconstrictor Agent Administration as a Risk Factor for Pressure Injury Development in Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Significance: Pressure injury (PI) is a common critical presentation in intensive care units (ICU) and is an important clinical concern in critical care settings. Some developing data support the vasoconstrictor agent administration as a potential risk factor; however, synthesis of available evidence has not been completed. Recent Advances: Comprehensive tactics were employed to search electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and Ovid Embase for data on vasoconstrictor agent administration associated with PI in ICU patients. Extraction was limited to studies that matched the inclusion criteria. The pooled odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for dichotomous outcomes. Critical Issues: Twenty-six studies were included, involving 50,192 patients who matched the selection criteria. Around 5.8% of patients (2,523/43,210) got PI in total. PI occurred in 10.9% (1,496/13,675) of the vasoconstrictor agent administration population and 3.5% (1,027/29,503) of the drug-free population. The pooled unadjusted odds ratio was 2.83 (95% CI = 2.21–3.64, p < 0.001). The adjusted odds ratio was 1.83 (95% CI = 1.26–2.68, p = 0.002). Subgroup analysis and meta-regression found that the risk of PI did not vary with research design, time of occurrence, patient age, or male proportion. Future Directions: Vasoconstrictor agent administration raised the risk of PI in critical care patients by nearly twofold. More emphasis should be placed on the timely prevention of PI in patients receiving vasoconstrictor agent administration in the ICU.