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Oral Abstracts (Session 5 of 5)
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(Presentation 36.3) Use of polyurethane foam dressings in debrided diabetic wounds Dr. A. Bal; Dr. H. Kumar; Dr. Rajesh; K. Sandhya, MN Aim: The aim of this study was to assess whether polyurethane foam dressings are superior to conventional dressings in operated diabetic wounds for promoting early wound healing. Methods: Patients with diabetes who underwent debridement for infections of the lower limb were included in this prospective study. Patients were randomly assigned to a study group and a control group. The study was conducted between January 1, 2005, and July 31, 2005. Foam with a size of 10 mm x 10 cm x 30 cm and shore hardness of 10 was used for the study group. No topical antibiotics or desloughing ointments were used. Controls were dressed with conventional techniques using antibiotic and hydrocolloid ointments. Dressings were changed daily, and bedside debridement was done when required. Patients were offloaded on the operated limb in both groups. All patients with wounds greater than 5-cm diameter underwent split-skin grafting (SSG). Duration of wound healing was taken as the number of days from the date of first debridement to date of SSG. In those who did not require SSG, wound healing was taken as the number of days from the date of the first debridement to the date the wound was detected as completely healed or by July 1, 2005. Results: A total of 48 patients were studied, 24 in each group. The mean duration for wound healing in the foam group was 22.5 + 15.4 days while that in the control group was 48.6 + 21.0 days (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: It was determined that there was a significant reduction in the time taken for wounds to heal when sterile, nonmedicated polyurethane foam dressings were used as compared to conventional dressings. |
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