Laboratory Research
Pressure injuries (PIs) have significant deleterious impacts on patients, healthcare professionals, and payors. Recent clinical studies indicate that multilayer foam dressings may be an effective addition in the prevention hospital-acquired PIs1,2. In vitro work has further demonstrated that these dressings can absorb and redistribute forces applied directly to the skin3. The aim of this study was to evaluate pressure distribution properties of commercially available wound dressings used in high-risk body areas when applying clinically relevant interface pressures using a novel heel indenter3,4.
Methods:
Five dressings were evaluated: A*, B†, C‡, D§, and E‖. A high-resolution pressure mapping system was used to test the pressure redistribution properties of the dressings. The dressing was applied to a 6 mm thick silicone gel5 layer (to simulate overlying tissue), and a clinically relevant load (80 mmHg, representing a patient in the supine position or sat in a wheelchair)6 was applied for 60 seconds using a novel heel indenter. A control was performed using the same set up without a dressing applied. Contact area and average and peak contact pressures were recorded (6 replicates performed).
Results:
All dressings showed a significant reduction in peak and average pressure and an increase in contact area compared with the no dressing control (P< 0.001). Dressings A and B showed a statistically significant reduction in both peak and average pressure compared with dressings D and E (P < 0.001).
Discussion:
Using an anatomically accurate heel indenter and clinically relevant testing pressure, these findings indicate that dressings A and B provide a significant reduction in interface pressure compared with no dressing, as well as a reduction compared with most other test dressings. These data suggest that these dressings may be considered as a component in the toolkit of pressure injury prevention protocols.