In vitro assessment of shear force buffering in sacral dressings to alleviate pressure injuries in bed-based patients

Although significant differences were identified between dressing types, DCoF was not indicative of dressing performance. Dressing compression, rather than thickness, was indicative of peak shear buffering. All dressings reduced the shear observed at the skin with respect to the control. The reduction in shear ratio between the control and all dressings tested was significant, ranging from 0.528-0.567 at 6kPa and 0.510-0.560 at 8kPa. Prophylactic use of these types of dressings to reduce risk of PI (widely specified within hospital and care setting protocols) confirms that this benefit is seen in the clinical setting. However, while there was a significant difference between the three dressing types (p=0.039 at 6kPa and p=0.050 at 8kPa), further work is required to explore how this translates to a clinical setting. Shear buffering is a complex process and performance is dependent on the compound response of the constituent dressing elements, rather than being dominated by a single component.