Comparison of four different dressings on donor site wounds

Abstract

Following nursing observation of the difficulties of healing of donor site wounds, including trauma and pain on removal of dressings, a blind randomized study was undertaken to determine which of four dressings provided the greatest comfort, had the fastest healing time and could be removed without trauma. Forty patients had one of four dressings applied in theatre: paraffin gauze, alginate alone, alginate with film cover or film alone. An observer was present who was unaware of the dressing used and recorded patient observations and nursing records for information. The study revealed that the dressing that caused patients most discomfort and trauma on removal was paraffin gauze. Alginate with film dressing was found to be most successful in treating these patients.

Wound Care in Buruli Ulcer Disease in Ghana and Benin

“…For example, infection rates with the use of traditional gauze dressings were found to be significantly higher compared with moisture-retentive dressings in wounds of various origins 5,7. Modern dressing materials (e.g., hydrocolloids) have been shown to decrease time to healing and increased patient comfort 5,8–10…”

Hydrocolloid dressing in pediatric burns may decrease operative intervention rates

“…Although these limitations persist, we feel that an RCT would be difficult to countenance given the healing benefits hydrocolloid dressings display compared with paraffin-based gauze both in our results and in trials performed on donor sites [10][11][12]. Another ethical consideration for an RCT in a pediatric burns cohort is the documented discomfort patients experience when changing paraffin gauze dressing [10,12,20]. Previous RCTs assessing hydrocolloid dressings in both wound and burn reepithelialization have been restricted by small cohort size, averaging only 37.4 patients (range, 8-72) per study [9][10][11][12]14,15,[21][22][23].…”

Prevalence of Wet-to-Dry Dressings in Wound Care

“…17,29 As the name implies, wet-to-dry dressings ultimately result in dry wound beds (even if for limited amounts of time), and the practice of using them is no longer evidence based. 2 -4,9,10,13,14,18,19,22,23,30 -34 The scientific literature reports that dry gauze dressings in open wounds (whether used dry or used as wet-to-dry) disrupt granulating tissue, 3 impair epithelial cell migration and histological activity, 9,14,23 leave foreign bodies in the wound bed, 14 increase the risk of infection, aerosolize bacteria, 14,22,35 cause severe pain upon removal, 24,36 and are less effective and more costly than other forms of debridement such as collagenase, fibrinolysin, and autolysis. 25,26,37 To reiterate, wetto-dry dressings are used primarily for mechanical debridement, and they are not described in any current scientific literature as having another purpose.…”