123 A New Study Design to Compare Wound Dressings

Abstract

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 manufactured to treat medium to heavily exuding wounds we designed a wound model using wounds resulting from harvesting of punch grafts for treatment of chronic ulcers. These are usually made by a 6 mm wide biopsy punch and a scalpel and are 7 mm wide round split skin wounds reaching down to the reticular dermis in a number from 2–300.10 consecutive patients with leg ulcers that had a punch graft operation performed at the in‐patient Dermatology ward in Reykjavik, Iceland 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 at dressing removal using a visual assessment scale.The dressings were weighed before and after to assess fluid absorption. Detailed digital photographs recorded the progress of each group of donor sites.The outcome of the different parameters seemed consistent and repeatable.Using the donor site of punch grafts is a repeatable and consistent way of studying the performance of new ulcer dressings, comparing them to established dressings.