Pressure Injury (staging) — NCLEX Cheat Sheet
Stage by tissue depth
👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team
🕐 Updated 2026-07-11
🏷️ Basic Care & Comfort
🔖 Free to read, print, and share
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent Pressure Injury (staging) on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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- 1: intact skin, nonblanchable red
- 2: partial, shallow open/blister
- 3: full, subq fat visible
- 4: bone/muscle/tendon exposed
- Unstageable: slough/eschar covers
- DTI: purple intact, boggy
- Turn q2h, off-load pressure
- Keep skin dry, protein nutrition
✨Quick Tip
Stage 1: intact skin with nonblanchable redness; in dark skin tones look for a change in color, temperature, or firmness.
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