Incontinence Brief Case Packs: Counts and Par Levels for LTC

Incontinence briefs for a care home arrive in two pack sizes that matter for planning: a 14-piece box and an 84-piece case. A par level is the quantity that should be on the shelf when the next order lands, calculated as average daily changes per resident multiplied by the days you want covered and then rounded up to whole cases. The prices in this article are the site variant prices at the time of writing, checked on 20 September 2026, and they change.

What pack sizes do incontinence briefs come in?

Each brief line is sold as a 14-piece box and an 84-piece case. The product handles still carry a "60-pack" reference left over from an earlier listing, and that is the trap worth knowing about: the variants actually stocked today are 14 and 84, so an order placed against the handle rather than the variant is how a floor ends up short.

A small trial pack is also available on some lines, which is useful when you are introducing a new absorbency to two or three residents rather than restocking a whole floor.

Which absorbency level goes to which resident?

Absorbency is chosen from the continence assessment rather than from habit. The lighter 3,000 mL line suits a resident who is up and about with scheduled toileting, the 4,000 mL line covers moderate continence needs through the day, and an overnight line in the 5,000 mL range covers the long unbroken stretch of a night shift.

Pull-on format briefs are a separate choice rather than a substitute for the tab styles. A resident who can stand and step into a brief, and who needs a full change routine, is usually served by pull-on; a resident who needs a check without standing is served by a tab-style brief that opens without removing clothing.

Whatever you stock should map to the assessment on file, because a mixed shelf with no logic behind it is what turns into both overspend and skin issues.

How do you calculate a par level for a care home?

Start from a measured number rather than a remembered one. Record every change for a sample of residents over two weeks, average the daily changes per resident, then multiply by the residents on that absorbency and by the days you want covered.

• Par level = average daily changes per resident × residents × coverage days.
• Add the buffer for delivery lead time and outbreaks before rounding, not after, or the rounding will absorb it.
• Round up to whole cases so the shelf figure is a number you can actually order.

Coverage days should follow your order cycle, not a calendar month, because a par level built around a 30-day month under-buys in a month with five delivery cycles.

Should you buy by the box or by the case?

Unit cost falls as pack size rises, so the case is the right unit for the absorbency levels a home uses every day, and the box is the right unit for the levels used by a handful of residents.

The trade-off is storage and shelf life rather than price alone. Cases need dry storage with room to rotate stock, and a case of an absorbency used by two residents can sit long enough that the oldest cartons end up at the back of the pile. Boxes cost more per piece and keep the shelf honest.

What does a case of briefs work out to per change?

Divide the variant price by the 84 pieces in the case. At the prices above that is roughly 48 cents to 77 cents per piece across the four lines, which is the figure to multiply by your documented changes per resident per day.

Keep two numbers separate in that arithmetic: cost per piece, and cost per change. A brief that has to be changed more often because it is under-absorbent for the resident costs more in total than the line with the higher piece price would have.

Read the price column as a snapshot for budgeting rather than a fixed rate. Variant prices move with freight and supply, which is why the pack count on the invoice is worth checking against the pack count on the shelf.

Related Reading

• Clinical supply learning hub
• Adult incontinence briefs in bulk: LTC procurement guide
• Adult brief sizing: weight and waist reference
• Adult diapers wholesale in Canada: a buyer's guide

Ordering for a clinic, lab or care home? Wholesale and multi-site ordering covers case pricing and account setup, and the B2B wholesale collection lists the lines stocked for institutional buyers.

wholesale account if you want to size the line before committing to case quantities.

Related Reading

• Adult incontinence briefs in bulk: LTC procurement guide
• Adult brief sizing: weight and waist reference
• Adult diapers wholesale in Canada: a buyer's guide
• Clinical supply learning hub
• long-term care supplies

Frequently Asked Questions

How many briefs per resident per day should a care home plan for?

Planning ranges commonly sit between four and six changes per resident per day, driven by continence level, fluid intake and the night routine. The number that matters for purchasing is your own documented average, measured over a two-week sample, because it is what turns into a par level.

What is a par level?

The quantity that should be on the shelf when the next order arrives. It is calculated as average daily use multiplied by the number of days you want covered, plus a buffer for delivery lead time and for outbreaks, then rounded up to whole cases so storage stays workable.

Does buying by the case lower the unit cost?

Per-piece, yes, and the gap is real: a 14-pack box carries a materially higher unit cost than an 84-pack case. The trade-off is storage space and shelf life, so the usual approach is cases for the high-volume sizes and boxes for the less-used ones.

Do pull-on briefs cost more per change than tab-style briefs?

Pull-ons are usually less expensive per piece per piece at the same absorbency, but they are not interchangeable. A resident who needs a full check-and-change routine is better served by a tab-style brief that can be opened without removing clothing, which is why the two formats are stocked together rather than substituted.

CliniEco Medical is a licensed medical device establishment (MDEL #35334).