title: Providing correct pressure-relieving devices for optimum outcome.
abstract: Pressure redistributing (PR) support surfaces are positioned by manufacturers against different levels of patient vulnerability to developing pressure ulcers. However, there is no agreed method through which such linkage between a patient and an appropriate support surface can be made. This lack of clarity leads to new devices being positioned in a manner not representative of their eventual use in clinical practice. Using a data hierarchy approach, three strands of evidence (interface pressure, a pilot national survey and a randomized controlled trial) are presented to illustrate, and support, the repositioning of the Viaclin dynamic mattress overlay (formerly the Pegasus Overture) from use with medium-risk patients to use with higher-risk patients. The need for amendment is seen most strikingly in the two clinical studies featured in this article, during which 87% of all patients nursed on the Viaclin dynamic mattress overlay were at high- to very high-risk of developing ulcers.
authors.affiliation: Pegasus Egerton Ltd, Waterlooville, Hampshire.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001513:Beds / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic