Care of Patient Lying with Varied Supine Angles: A Quantitative Pressure Evaluation

The aim of this study was to clarify the pressure distribution of patient lying with varied supine angle on the standard hospital mattress (SHM) and sheep skin mattress (SSM), and then to compare the pressure relieving of those two kinds of mattresses which have been widely used in the pressure prevention. Eighteen healthy students were recruited from the university. Pressure distribution of SHM and SSM were measured by mFLEX measurement system in the supine angle of 0°, 30°, 60° and 90°. Pressure areas were divided into four parts: total, back, sacrum and heel area, under which peak pressure (PP) (mmHg), mean pressure (MP) (mmHg) and contact area (CA) (cm2) were calculated. One-way ANOVA shows that with the supine angle change from the level to the vertical status, PP and CA at sacrum area was increasing as well, but PP at sacrum was still high in the 90° supine angle; further Paired T test records that majority PP values were proved to be significantly reduced by the usage of SSM in each supine angle, in contrast with the control group of standard hospital mattress and pressure reduction of MP was limited. Although positive outcomes were observed in each supine angle when the SSM was applied, further improvement of SSM in the aspect of shape was still required, such as a 3D structure was introduced to lower the higher pressure at the sacrum area.