General information only. It is not medical, coding or billing advice. Always follow the prescriber's order, the device labeling and your facility's policies.
The staging most U.S. facilities use comes from the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP). In short:
| Stage | What you see |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Intact skin with a red area that does not blanch when pressed. May look different on darker skin. |
| Stage 2 | Partial-thickness skin loss with exposed dermis. Can look like a shallow open area or an intact or broken blister. |
| Stage 3 | Full-thickness skin loss. Fat may be visible; slough or eschar may be present, but bone, tendon and muscle are not exposed. |
| Stage 4 | Full-thickness skin and tissue loss with exposed or directly palpable fascia, muscle, tendon, ligament, cartilage or bone. |
| Unstageable | The base is hidden by slough or eschar, so the depth cannot be judged yet. |
| Deep tissue pressure injury | Intact or broken skin with a persistent deep red, maroon or purple area, or a dark blood-filled blister. |
Source: National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, pressure injury stages, npiap.com. Use the NPIAP definitions and illustrations for training.
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