2005 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care | |
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Laboratory Research
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A new study design to compare wound dressings Baldur Baldursson, MD, PhD, Deparment of Dermatology, University Hospital Reykjavik, Iceland The initial tests of a new ulcer dressing, even if the materials are well known and safe must include comparison with other dressings. In order to test the performance of a new dressing we designed a wound model using wounds resulting from harvesting of punch grafts for treatment of chronic ulcers. These are made by a 6 mm wide biopsy punch and a scalpel and are 7mm wide round split skin wounds reaching down to the reticular dermis in a number from 2-300. Ten consecutive patients with leg ulcers that had a punch graft operation performed at a in-patient Dermatology ward were enrolled. The grafts were harvested on the antero-lateral aspect of the thigh in a pattern of three groups each with 3-20 punch graft wounds. A different type of wound dressing was used to treat each group. Dressing changes were scheduled for one, four, 12 and 18 days after the operation. The nurse graded the appearance of the split skin wounds into infected or non-infected, inflammatory or non-inflammatory. The patient graded the degree of pain using a visual assessment scale. Using the donor site of punch grafts is a convenient and repeatable way of studying the performance of new ulcer dressings, comparing them to established dressings. |
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