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Preventing pressure ulcers with the Australian Medical Sheepskin: an open‐label randomised controlled trial
Author(s) -
Jolley Damien J,
Wright Robyn,
McGowan Sunita,
Hickey Mark B,
Montgomery Kenneth C,
Campbell Don A,
Sinclair Rodney D
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb05966.x
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , cumulative incidence , population , randomized controlled trial , confidence interval , attack rate , surgery , physical therapy , pediatrics , epidemiology , cohort , physics , environmental health , optics
Objective: To estimate the effectiveness of a new high‐performance Australian medical sheepskin (meeting Australian Standard 4480.1‐1998) in preventing pressure ulcers in a general hospital population at low to moderate risk of these ulcers. Design: Open‐label randomised controlled clinical trial. Setting: A large metropolitan teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, in 2000. Participants: 441 patients aged over 18 years admitted between 12 June and 30 November 2000, with expected length of stay over 2 days and assessed as at low to moderate risk of developing pressure ulcers. Intervention: Patients were randomly allocated to receive a sheepskin mattress overlay for the duration of their hospital stay (218 patients) or usual treatment, as determined by ward staff (referent group, 223 patients). Main outcome measures: Incidence rate and cumulative incidence of pressure ulcers, assessed daily throughout hospital stay. Results: 58 patients developed pressure ulcers (sheepskin group, 21; referent group, 37). Cumulative incidence risk was 9.6% in the sheepskin group (95% CI, 6.1%–14.3%) versus 16.6% in the referent group (95% CI, 12.0%–22.1%). Patients in the sheepskin group developed new pressure ulcers at a rate less than half that of referent patients (rate ratio, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.26–0.67). Conclusions: The Australian Medical Sheepskin is effective in reducing the incidence of pressure ulcers in general hospital inpatients at low to moderate risk of these ulcers.