Evaluation of the sheepskin mattress in terms of pressure relieving capability

Abstract

The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of sheepskin mattress in pressure relieving. The pressure distribution of rigid mattress (CM), air mattress (AM) and standard medical mattress (SMM) in supine posture of 18 students before and after the intervention of the own-made sheepskin mattress (FM) were measured by mFLEX system and variables of peak pressure (PP) and average pressure (mmHg) (AP) and contact area (cm2) (CA) at total, back, sacrum and heel area were used for comparisons. Paired-T test with a significant level of 0.05 shows that the usage of FM significantly increased total CA by mean of 30% for three basis mattresses, then reductions about 8% for PP and 10% to 40% for AP were also observed. At back area, both PP and AP decreased by average of 30% for CM and AM; whereas only 10% reducing of PP was reported at sacrum for CM and SMM but at which the magnitude of pressure was still high. With exception of heel area, the outcomes were proved to be reliable where CoV and ICC ranged 5.1%-23.2% and 0.70-0.97. It can be concluded that the sheep skin mattress was effective in relieving the magnitude of contact pressure and it could be used in the routine patient's care to prevent the ulceration.