Disposable medical underpads are essential high-frequency consumables in the global healthcare system, serving as a hygienic and protective barrier for clinical care, incontinence management, and bed-ridden patient nursing. With the continuous improvement of medical infection control standards and the expansion of healthcare scenarios, the scientific selection of disposable medical underpads has become a key link for medical institutions, nursing institutions and even home care users to ensure care quality. Meanwhile, the global disposable medical underpad industry is undergoing structural upgrades driven by market demand and technological innovation. This article comprehensively sorts out the core purchasing criteria of disposable medical underpads and in-depth analyzes the latest development trends of the industry, providing a reference for industry participants and end users.

 

The selection of disposable medical underpads cannot be limited to a single factor such as price, but needs to be comprehensively judged based on compliance standards, product performance, scenario adaptation and cost-effectiveness, so as to achieve the balance between care needs and practical application.

 

Compliance is the bottom line for selecting disposable medical underpads. Qualified products must meet the national and international medical device standards, among which Class II medical device certification is the core indicator for medical-grade underpads. Products should be clearly marked with the medical device registration certificate number on the outer packaging, and pass the strict quality inspection of drug regulatory authorities. In terms of sterility, medical underpads used in operating rooms, obstetrics and gynecology departments, and post-operative care must undergo ethylene oxide sterilization, achieving zero detection of bacterial and fungal colonies, and also meeting the limit requirements of ethylene oxide residue. In addition, qualified products should comply with ISO 13485 medical device quality management system certification, and be free of fluorescent agents, fluff pulp and formaldehyde, with the pH value meeting the international Class A weak acid standard to avoid skin irritation.

 

The practical value of disposable medical underpads is determined by its core performance, and the key evaluation indicators focus on four aspects: absorption, leakproofness, air permeability and softness. Excellent medical underpads adopt a three-layer structural design: the top non-woven fabric layer has fast liquid guiding performance to keep the surface dry; the middle absorbent core is mixed with super absorbent polymers (SAP) and cellulose fibers, which can quickly absorb and lock liquid, and the absorption capacity should be matched with the actual care needs (divided into light, medium and high absorption levels for different scenarios); the bottom polyethylene backsheet has high-density leakproof and anti-slip performance to prevent liquid seepage and displacement. For long-term bed-ridden patients, the air permeability and softness of the product are particularly important, which can reduce the risk of pressure sores and improve the comfort of use.

 

Disposable medical underpads have a variety of specifications and models, and the selection must be tailored to different application scenarios. Large-size and high-absorption underpads are suitable for operating rooms, delivery rooms and ICU, which can cover the operating table and nursing bed in a large area to deal with a large amount of body fluid leakage; small and medium-size underpads are suitable for outpatient injection, dental treatment and daily nursing of general wards, with the advantages of easy operation and cost saving; for home care of the elderly with incontinence and post-operative rehabilitation patients, lightweight and portable underpads with moderate absorption are the first choice; for emerging scenarios such as pet hospitals, antibacterial medical underpads with customized sizes are more in line with the actual needs. In addition, some special scenarios such as gynecological surgery also require underpads with metering functions, which can accurately record blood loss and provide data support for clinical treatment.

 

On the premise of ensuring compliance and performance, cost-effectiveness has become an important consideration for large-scale procurement by medical institutions. At present, the price of qualified medical-grade disposable underpads is basically comparable to that of high-quality ordinary sanitary products, with the average unit price of 1.5-2 RMB per piece in the market. For bulk procurement, it is recommended to cooperate with manufacturers with independent production capacity and complete after-sales service, and avoid choosing low-priced products with unqualified sterility and performance indicators. At the same time, group procurement can be adopted to reduce the single purchase cost, and the product quality should be tracked and inspected in the use process, including sampling inspection of sterility and absorption performance, to ensure the stability of product quality.

 

Driven by the global aging population, the expansion of healthcare infrastructure and the upgrading of consumption demand, the disposable medical underpad industry has shown a steady growth trend, and the market scale and product structure are undergoing profound changes. The latest industry trends are mainly reflected in the following five aspects:

 

The disposable medical underpad market has the characteristics of sustainable demand and anti-cyclicality, and has maintained a high growth rate for a long time. The global market scale of medical nursing pads (the core category of disposable medical underpads) has grown from 5.08 billion RMB in 2011 to 20.996 billion RMB in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.7%, and it is expected to exceed 30 billion RMB in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.3% from 2023 to 2026. Geographically, North America and Europe currently account for about 65% of the global market share due to their mature medical systems and strict infection control requirements, becoming the main consumption areas of high-end products; the Asia-Pacific region, led by China and India, has become the fastest-growing engine of the industry, with a double-digit compound annual growth rate, thanks to the rapid construction of medical infrastructure and the continuous improvement of infection prevention awareness. China has become the world's major market for disposable medical underpads, with a market scale of 5.5 billion RMB in 2022, accounting for more than 30% of the global market, and it is expected to exceed 10 billion RMB in 2026, with a global market share of more than 32%.

 

Under the background of the global implementation of green environmental protection policies, the disposable medical underpad industry is facing the pressure of replacing traditional plastic materials, and material innovation centered on environmental protection has become the core research and development direction of enterprises. European and American countries have issued restrictive policies on disposable plastic products, forcing the industry to accelerate the research and development and application of biodegradable materials and bio-based non-woven fabrics. Major manufacturers are gradually replacing traditional polyethylene backsheets with polylactic acid (PLA) biodegradable films, and using plant-based cellulose instead of partial chemical fibers in the absorbent core to reduce the environmental pollution of medical waste. At the same time, the research and development of high-performance super absorbent polymers is also deepening, and the emergence of hydrogel materials has further improved the absorption capacity and liquid locking performance of medical underpads while realizing environmental protection.

 

The application scope of disposable medical underpads is no longer limited to traditional general hospitals and nursing homes, but is rapidly expanding to emerging healthcare scenarios, and the market demand for differentiated products is growing significantly. Day surgery centers, medical beauty institutions and dental clinics have become important incremental markets for standardized and small-sized medical underpads due to their high demand for operational convenience and infection control; with the rise of the silver economy, the home care market driven by the elderly with disabilities and semi-disabilities (more than 40 million in China) has shown a trend of rigid demand and consumption upgrading, and lightweight, skin-friendly and high-absorption home medical underpads have become the mainstream of the market; in addition, the pet medical industry with a compound annual growth rate of 21.1% has driven the demand for antibacterial and customized medical underpads, becoming a new blue ocean track for the industry. The diversification of scenarios has promoted the refinement of the product line of disposable medical underpads, and the premium space of differentiated products has become increasingly prominent.

 

The competition of the disposable medical underpad industry is gradually shifting from price competition to technological and product competition, and the trend of product intelligentization and functional integration is becoming increasingly obvious. On the one hand, major enterprises are adding antibacterial coatings to the surface of medical underpads to enhance the anti-infection ability of products, and developing intelligent underpads with liquid absorption indication functions, which can remind nursing staff to replace them in time through color changes, improving the efficiency of clinical care. On the other hand, customized production has become a key service for manufacturers to meet the personalized needs of customers. Medical institutions can customize products with specific sizes, absorption capacity and functions according to the characteristics of different departments, and pet hospitals and medical beauty institutions can also obtain personalized products matching their own scenarios. The integration of multiple functions such as sterility, absorption, antibacterial and intelligence has become the core competitiveness of high-end disposable medical underpads.

 

At present, the global disposable medical underpad industry is in a stage of accelerated integration, especially in the Chinese market with a prominent OEM/ODM foundry model, the industry structure is undergoing profound changes. In the early stage of the industry development, most enterprises relied on the foundry model to expand the market scale, which led to problems such as product homogeneity, low profit margin and high quality control risk. In recent years, leading enterprises have begun to transform from pure foundry to independent R&D and brand operation, increasing investment in material research and development and production technology upgrading to break the profit bottleneck caused by homogeneous competition. At the same time, the industry integration is accelerating, and head enterprises are expanding their market share through mergers and acquisitions, while small and medium-sized enterprises are forced to withdraw from the market due to unqualified compliance and backward technology. In terms of supply chain, group procurement has become the mainstream procurement mode of medical institutions, which has raised the entry threshold for the industry and promoted the optimization of the whole supply chain from raw material procurement to product production and after-sales service.

 

As an indispensable part of the global healthcare system, disposable medical underpads are facing unprecedented development opportunities with the continuous improvement of medical standards and the expansion of care scenarios. For purchasers, the scientific selection of products based on compliance, performance and scenario adaptation is the key to ensuring the quality of care; for industry enterprises, only by focusing on material innovation, product customization and environmental protection upgrading, and accelerating the transformation from foundry to independent R&D, can they gain a firm foothold in the increasingly fierce market competition.

 

In the future, the global disposable medical underpad industry will continue to maintain a steady growth trend, and the development direction of environmental protection, intelligence, diversification and high-end will become more clear. With the continuous improvement of medical infection control standards and the upgrading of consumer demand, the industry will usher in a new development pattern with high-quality development as the core, and disposable medical underpads will also play a more important role in the global healthcare system with more advanced technology and more humanized design."