Integumentary SystemDifficulty 2/5
A sacral pressure injury shows visible subcutaneous fat without exposed bone, tendon or muscle. How is it staged?
- AStage 2, because the wound extends below the epidermis
- BStage 3, because full-thickness loss exposes subcutaneous fat
- CStage 4, because the wound base is deep and irregular
- DUnstageable, because the depth cannot be determined visually
Show answer and rationale
Correct: B. Stage 3 is full-thickness skin loss in which fat is visible but bone, tendon and muscle are not. Stage 4 exposes those deeper structures, and a wound is unstageable only when slough or eschar obscures the base.
- A — Stage 2 is partial thickness with exposed dermis and no visible fat.
- C — Stage 4 requires exposed bone, tendon or muscle.
- D — The base is visible, so the injury can be staged.