Evaluation of Shear Force Redistribution and Microclimate in Foam Dressings Indicated for Pressure Injury Prevention.
Sandra Guzman, Kasey Call, Marianne Russon and 3 others
PMID 40178268WHAT IT FOUND
Pressure-injury dressings behaved differently on laboratory shear and moisture tests.
Dressing A transmitted less force than the control in low shear and showed no inside-outside humidity difference. Dressing E retained the most moisture. No patient outcomes were tested.
Key findings
01In the low-shear bench test, dressing A had lower average and peak transmitted forces than the control, while dressings B and E did not show a significant difference from the control.
02In the high-shear bench test, every dressing had higher transmitted forces than the control, and dressing D had the highest transmitted forces and highest percentage of force transmitted.
03At 175 minutes, only dressing A and the high-moisture control showed no significant difference in relative humidity inside and outside the dressing; dressing E retained the most moisture.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
No patients or pressure injury outcomes were tested; results are bench measurements only. The laboratory indenter controls temperature and may not reflect real skin temperature, and support surface material can change results. Shear and microclimate were tested separately, but moisture and heat can affect shear; friction between dressing and skin was not accounted for. The study used a surrogate mattress and sealed pores, which may not represent patients. The shear test was internally developed and not standardized.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these bench-test differences as evidence that a dressing prevents pressure injuries in patients. The study tested dressings on laboratory fixtures, not people, and the authors say no published research links these results to clinical outcomes.