SLR - March 2011 - Rebecca Haugen
Reference: Borkow, G.; Gabbay, J.; & Okon-Levy, N. (2010). Copper oxide impregnated wound dressing: Biocidal and safety studies. Wounds, 22 (12), 301-310.
Scientific Literature Review
Reviewed by: Rebecca Haugen, DPM, PGY-2
Residency Program: Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System
Podiatric Relevance:
Wound care is a large part of podiatric medicine. With the growing population of patients suffering from vascular disease and diabetes, wounds and the need for wound care are also on the rise. Wound care products that help provide faster healing and decreased bacterial loads are important weapons in any doctor’s armamentarium.
Methods:
Non-stick dressings were manufactured and impregnated with copper oxide particles. The dressings were exposed to E. coli, E. fecalis, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, C. albicans, and P. leiognathi to test antibacterial and antifungal properties, and to determine the biocidal efficacy of the dressing. Clinically, the dressings were placed on intact rabbit skin & wounded porcine skin to check for sensitivity and dermal reactions.
Results:
Within 10 minutes of exposure to the copper dressings, the microorganisms in the copper dressings were reduced by over 50% when compared to control dressings. The copper dressings showed to have potent antibacterial and antifungal properties. The sensitivity tests showed no irritation after 72 hours of exposure. There was found to be no significant difference between a control dressing and the copper dressing on porcine wounds.
Conclusions:
The copper impregnated dressings were shown to have potent antibacterial and antifungal properties without any harmful effect to the dermis in the above animal study. There are multiple mentions in the article referring to the healing effects of copper (ie. induction of endothelial growth factor, angiogenesis, and expression of skin proteins), but those were not demonstrated in this study. Now that copper dressings have been shown safe and effective against microorganisms, the next step in research would include a human model and a comparison of healing times between a control dressing and the copper dressing.