SLR - June 2012 - Corey E. Valentine
Reference: Wounds: A Compendium of Clinical Research and Practice Volume 24, Number 3, March 2012, pg 47-50
Scientific Literature Review
Reviewed by Corey E. Valentine, D.P.M. PGY-2
Residency Program: OCPM & University Hospital Richmond Heights Medical Center
Podiatric Relevance:
Venous leg ulcers are a common problem that podiatric physicians see in their practices and/or wound care centers. Venous leg ulcerations can also be a chronic and recurrent problem, causing long-term treatment to be difficult. This article describes a specific product, called Sepaderm, which can be utilized to treat venous leg ulcerations. Sepaderm consists of three components: an adhesive and fluid resistant cushion, a flexible adhesive wick strip that prevents leaking of exudate to the periwound skin, and a reservoir for pulling exudate away from the wound bed.
Methods:
Eighteen patients that were receiving treatment for their venous leg ulcerations were treated with Sepaderm. The treatment also consisted of a compression bandage. Clinical visits consisted of documenting wound appearance, dimensions, patient pain, exudate level, odor, and periwound condition. All treatment was performed at the Wound Treatment Center of the Opelousas General Hospital.
Results:
The study consisted of mainly males (77.8 percent) and African Americans (66.7 percent). Six of these participants were previously treated for their venous leg ulcerations. Twelve of the participants received Sepaderm as their initial treatment for their ulceration. Ten out of the 16 patients (62.5 percent), had >80 percent healing or complete closure after being treated for three to 13 weeks. It was also found that the initial healing rates from week one to week four were found to be 0.42 cm (+/- 0.14), 0.35 cm (+/- 0.07), 0.32 cm (+/- 0.05), and 0.31 cm (+/- 0.05) respectively. It was also noted that the patients experienced no pain in the wound throughout the treatment. Another important consideration is that none of the patients experienced periwound maceration during the treatment. There was one patient that had maceration to the periwound skin at baseline. The maceration was completely resolved after six days with the use of Sepaderm.
Conclusions:
Results of this study demonstrate that Sepaderm is an option when treating chronic venous ulcerations. Advantages include no periwound maceration, fewer dressing changes (three to eight days), and the absence of pain to the wound. According to this article, they had a mean initial four-week healing rate of 0.31 cm +/- 0.05 cm. One of the main problems with the article, however, is the lack of a control group to compare healing rates. With that being said, however, further testing should be performed with Sepaderm including comparison to standard treatments.