The effectiveness of a hydrogel dressing compared with standard management of pressure ulcers

OBJECTIVE: To compare a hydrogel dressing with a conservative topical wound-care regimen (gauze with povidone-iodine) for the treatment of pressure ulcers. METHOD: A prospective study comprising 27 (24 male and three female) spinal-cord injury patients with a total of 49 pressure ulcers. Wounds were randomised into a treatment group (n=25) or control group (n=24). The primary outcome measure was the rate of wound healing (cm2/days). RESULTS: Healing rates in the treatment group were higher than in the control group, although this was not statistically significant. Some 84% of the wounds in the treatment group and 54% in the control group epithelialised, which was statistically significant (p=0.04). The mean healing time in the treatment group was 48 days compared with 45 days for the controls. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that hydrogel occlusive wound dressings facilitate healing by promoting more rapid epithelialisation of pressure ulcers, when compared with conservative wound care.