Norton Scale
Pressure ulcer risk across five parameters scored 1 to 4. The lower the total, the higher the risk: 14 or below indicates risk.
Updated · Methodology
The lower the total, the higher the risk. Maximum 20 points.
About this calculator
The first pressure ulcer risk scale, proposed in 1962 and still in nursing use because it is quick. Five parameters are rated 1 to 4: general physical condition, mental condition, activity, mobility and incontinence. The scale is inverted: a maximum of 20 means minimal risk while low totals mean high risk. Spanish care protocols use the modified Norton reading: 5-9 very high risk, 10-12 high, 13-14 medium, above 14 minimal. What the scale leaves out matters. It has no item for nutrition, skin moisture, friction or shear, and those are exactly the factors later scales added. As a result Norton misses more malnourished patients who still move well. A risk score replaces skin inspection no more than a thermometer replaces examining the patient: any total sits alongside regular inspection of bony prominences and prevention per local protocol.
Source
Formula version: norton-1962-insalud-v1
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