Abstract
Exuding wound care requires a dressing to quickly absorb exudates and properly manage moisture during the healing process. In this study, the superabsorbent spacer fabrics were designed and fabricated for application in exuding wound dressings. The fabric structure consists of three layers, including two outer hydrophobic layers made of polyester/spandex yarns and one superabsorbent middle layer made of superabsorbent yarns. In order to confirm the performance of these superabsorbent spacer fabrics, their dressing properties were tested and compared with two commercial foam dressings. The results showed that all the superabsorbent spacer fabrics had much faster wetting speeds (less than 2 s) than the foam dressings (6.04 s for Foam A and 63.69 s for Foam B). The absorbency of the superabsorbent spacer fabrics was at least twice higher than that of the foam dressings. The air permeability of the superabsorbent spacer fabrics (higher than 15 mL/s/cm2 at 100 Pa) was much higher than that of the foam dressings which had a too low permeability to be measured by the testing device. In addition, the water vapor permeability, thermal insulation, and conformability of superabsorbent spacer fabrics were comparable to foam dressings. The study indicates that the superabsorbent spacer fabrics are suitable for exuding wound dressing applications.
Highlights
Wound management and dressing selection are important aspects of healthcare
The conformability of the superabsorbent spacer fabrics was comparable to the foam dressings from the market
Four types of superabsorbent spacer fabrics were fabricated for being used as exuding wound over a joint, it should provide sufficient freedom to the joint to move
Summary
Wound management and dressing selection are important aspects of healthcare. Historically, it was believed that a dry wound environment could promote healing and inhibit infection. In 1962, Winter [1] found that if the formation of scab was prevented, the rate of epithelization could be markedly increased This finding has led to the formation of a new concept to treat wounds, that is, a moist environment facilitates wound healing. This study focuses on the application of superabsorbent spacer fabrics as dressings for granulating wounds, which often produce substantial exudates and induce severe heat loss especially when wound area is large. At this stage, a warm, moist environment and minimal disturbance are required to promote wound healing [3]
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