Wheelchair cushions designed to prevent pressure sores: an evaluation.

Seven commercially available wheelchair cushions were tested for their ability to reduce reactive hyperemia in paralyzed patients. The cushions were evaluated daily for seven days on each of three patients. A Latin-square design was used to determine the sequence of evaluation on each of the days, and to control the effect of order of assessment. Patients sat on the cushions exactly 30 minutes after which the duration of any redness was measured with a stop watch. Before sitting on the next cushion, the patients remained off their buttocks for exactly 30 minutes. Data for the three patients were averaged, and an analysis of variance of the Latin-square showed no significant differences among the cushions.