2005 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care | |
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Laboratory Research
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Testing the vertical and horisontal distribution of exudate in two silicone dressings Baldur Baldursson, MD, PhD, Deparment of Dermatology, University Hospital Reykjavik, Iceland We wanted to look at the horizontal and vertical movements of exudate inside two dressings, the theory being that the farther away from the wound the exudate travels, the better. In a wound model calf serum was pumped through a small hole at 5ml/h with a dressing at the other side. Two types of silicone dressings were tested, two of each dressing. When one dressing had reached the limits of its absorbency the dressings were snap frozen in liquid nitrogen, the horizontal distribution of serum at the wound contact surface measured and then cut to evaluate vertical spread. There was significant difference in both the horizontal area of exudate and the vertical spread. When dressing B was saturated, dressing A* had horizontal spread in 45% less area and while dressing A showed serum at all levels and mainly in the ExulockTM cells at the back, in dressing B there was no serum in approximately 1/3 of the dressing at the back. An additive hyper absorptive function in a sponge dressing leads to a smaller area of wound fluid at the wound contact area and removal of the fluid towards the backing. This should reduce the risk of maceration around the wound in a real life situation. * Gentleheal from Ossur Inc. in Iceland, dressing B is Mepilex, Molnlycke Health Care, Newtown, Pa. |
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