Preventing pressure ulcers with the Australian Medical Sheepskin: An open-label randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness of a new high-performance Australian medical sheepskin (meeting Australian Standard 4480.1-1998) in preventing pressure ulcers in a general hospital population at low to moderate risk of these ulcers. Design: Open-label randomised controlled clinical trial. Setting: A large metropolitan teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, in 2000. Participants: 441 patients aged over 18 years admitted between 12 June and 30 November 2000, with expected length of stay over 2 days and assessed as at low to moderate risk of developing pressure ulcers. Intervention: Patients were randomly allocated to receive a sheepskin mattress overlay for the duration of their ho..