title: Randomised controlled trial to evaluate a new double-layer air-cell overlay for elderly patients requiring head elevation.
abstract: A clinical investigation was conducted concerning the effects of a newly designed double-layer air-cell overlay in preventing the onset of pressure ulcers for patients with a Braden scale score of < or = 16, and who require a head-elevated position of 45 degrees or higher. A randomised controlled trial was undertaken involving 82 patients from a general hospital ward using one of the following three support surfaces: a double-layer air-cell overlay, a single-layer air-cell overlay or a standard hospital mattress. A significantly lower percentage of patients using the double-layer air-cell overlay developed pressure ulcers (3.4%) compared to 19.2% and 37.0% for those patients using the single-layer air-cell overlay and standard mattress respectively. Based on these findings, a double-layer air-cell overlay should be more effective in preventing the onset of pressure ulcers than either a single-layer air-cell overlay or a standard hospital mattress for subjects requiring head elevation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Japan. sanadaf@kenroku.ipc.kanazawa-uc.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sanada
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sugama
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Chizuko
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Konya
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okuwa
authors.forename: Shizuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Omote
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000388:Air; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001510:Bed Rest / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D001513:Beds / Q000592:standards*; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D011187:Posture; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors