Image of male nurse pushing senior woman in a wheelchair in nursing facility

Replacing a non-permeable, reusable pad with a disposable, high-fluid capacity one can reduce the number of incontinence-associated dermatitis cases and lessen their severity, according to research in Ostomy Wound Management.

A study at three skilled nursing facilities in Connecticut compared the impact of reusable pads versus high-capacity disposable versions used when patients, either ambulatory or wheelchair bound, were in bed for two or more hours.

Staff were trained on the importance of differentiating between IAD and pressure injury. They substituted the study’s disposable product for any others used previously.

Over a month, researchers found average IAD severity scores decreased among those who had the condition at the study’s start. Among the 15 participants with intact, non- damaged skin at enrollment, none had a new case of IAD.

An inverse impact reported on IAD and pressure injury incidence rates a month after training, however, suggests the educational component had a short-lasting effect. Additionally, the current study “supports other research findings that generalist nurses are not well-versed in determining etiology of buttock wounds.”