Each month, Apple Bites brings you a tool you can apply in your daily practice.
Description
A hydrocolloid dressing is a wafer type of dressing that contains gel-forming agents in an adhesive compound laminated onto a flexible, water-resistant outer layer. Some formulations contain an alginate to increase absorption capabilities. The wafers are self-adhering and available with or without an adhesive border and in various thicknesses and precut shapes for such body areas as the sacrum, elbows, and heels. Click here to see examples of
hydrocolloid dressings.
By Rosalyn Jordan, RN, BSN, MSc, CWOCN, WCC, and Marci Christian, BBE
Any patient with a fecal or urinary ostomy may experience complications on the skin surface around the stoma. These complications may occur lifelong, although they’re more common during the first 5 years after the initial ostomy surgery. Causative factors include infection, trauma, certain diseases, and chemical irritation; most of these problems stem from the pouching system or pouch leakage.
Peristomal skin complications can cause a wide range of signs and symptoms, from skin discoloration to polyp-like growths, from erythema to full-thickness wounds. They can lead to discomfort, pain, poor self-image, social isolation, and impaired quality of life, not to mention additional care costs.
Incidence and types of these complications are hard to compare or contrast across multiple patients. Until recently, no standardized assessment or documentation tools were available to characterize or define complications. For this reason, reported rates ranged widely, from 10% to 70%. And because no designated common language or categories related to peristomal skin complications existed, documentation was inconsistent.
In the late 2000s, a group of nurses experienced in caring for ostomy patients worked with the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists to develop a resource called the Ostomy Skin Tool, which clinicians can use to categorize and describe peristomal skin complications in a consistent, objective manner. The tool also provides a common language for documentation.
The Ostomy Skin Tool has three major assessment domains—discoloration (D), erosion/ulceration (E), and tissue overgrowth (T), known collectively as DET. The DET combined rating ranges from normal, rated 0, to the worst condition possible, rated 15. Mild DET complications are documented as less than 4, moderate as less than 7, and severe as 8 or higher. (See Using the Ostomy Skin Tool by clicking the PDF icon above.)
The tool describes four categories of peristomal complications:
• chemical irritation
• mechanical trauma
• disease-related complications
• infection-related complications.
Chemical irritation
Chemical irritation can stem from irritants (as in contact dermatitis) or allergic reactions (allergic dermatitis). The most likely cause of chemical dermatitis is effluent leakage (feces or urine) from the colostomy, ileostomy, or urostomy, in which effluent comes in contact with peristomal skin. Other potential causes include contact with soap, certain adhesives, and adhesive removers.
The major treatment of chemical irritation is identification and removal of the offending agent, followed by patient and caregiver education on the new pouching procedure the patient must use. Follow-up assessment also is recommended. In a 2010 study that followed 89 patients for 1 year after ostomy surgery, about 50% of subjects experienced peristomal skin complications, most of them from pouch leakage. Another investigator estimated that 85% of ostomy patients experience pouch leakage at some time during their lives. Pouch leakage usually occurs when stool is extremely liquid (for instance, ileostomy effluent). Other causes of pouch leakage include wearing a pouch more than half full of effluent and abdominal contours that aren’t level. Besides changes in the pouching system, treatment may entail adding products to the pouching system or removing certain agents.
Some patients experience allergic dermatitis in reaction to products used in the pouching system (such as skin barriers, belts, pouch closures, or adhesives). However, allergic dermatitis is rare. One 2010 study suggested allergic reactions to these products occur in only about 0.6% of patients with peristomal skin irritation. Most major ostomy product manufacturers provide a patch test on request to help identify allergic conditions. Once the offending product is discontinued, allergic dermatitis should resolve rapidly.
Mechanical trauma
Mechanical trauma usually results from either the pouching system itself or its removal. It also may result from harsh or multiple skin-barrier removals, pressure from convex rings or pouches, and abrasive cleansing techniques. Some researchers believe the stronger the adhesive barrier and the more often a pouch is changed, the greater the risk of epidermal damage.
Mechanical trauma may present as a partial-thickness ulcer caused by pressure, shear, friction, tearing, or skin stripping. Patients with fragile skin are susceptible to mechanical trauma, so less aggressive pouching systems may be preferred for them. Of course, if the pouching system is changed, the patient or caregiver needs to learn about the new system.
Disease-related complications
Disease-related peristomal complications may be linked to preexisting skin conditions, such as psoriasis, eczema (atopic dermatitis), or seborrheic dermatitis. Hyperplasia also may occur. This overgrowth of cells, which may appear as gray or reddish brown pseudoverrucous lesions, usually is linked to urinary ostomies, although it can occur with fecal ostomies as well. Vinegar soaks are the recommended treatment, in addition to a change in the pouching system and corresponding patient education.
Occasionally, other disease-related complications occur, including primary adenocarcinoma of the peristomal skin and peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum, a painful and problematic condition that presents as peristomal ulcers. Ulcer borders are well-defined with a bluish purple coloration at the edges. Infection must be ruled out, as this condition usually is linked to an autoimmune condition. Treatment includes pain management and, in most cases, a topical corticosteroid. Crohn’s disease also may manifest as a peristomal skin ulcer.
Infection-related complications
Infection-related complications may be bacterial or fungal. Two common peristomal skin infections are folliculitis and Candida fungal infections. An infection of the hair follicle that causes pustules, folliculitis usually stems from traumatic hair pulling in the peristomal area during pouch removal. It may warrant a prescribed antibiotic, along with patient teaching regarding proper hair removal using an electric razor.
Candida infections may arise because peristomal skin provides a warm, dark, moist environment that promotes fungal growth. These infections appear as erythema with pustules or papules and satellite lesions. Treatment usually involves antifungal powder and use of the crusting technique to secure the pouching system. (See Using the crusting technique by clicking the PDF icon above.)
Management
Many complications are well advanced by the time patients seek assistance, perhaps because they don’t understand the significance of their symptoms and think they can manage the problem themselves. In some cases, they don’t know where to turn for assistance. Commonly, the complication progresses to the point where the patient goes to the emergency department or (particularly during the immediate postoperative period) needs to be readmitted for treatment. The best way to manage peristomal skin complications is to prevent them in the first place. (See Preventing peristomal skin complications by clicking the PDF icon above.)
Patient education
Over the past 20 years, hospital stays for ostomy surgery patients have decreased from about 2 weeks to less than 5 days. Reduced stays decrease the time available for caregivers to teach patients and family members how to empty and change the pouch. They need alternative education covering (among other topics) how to recognize peristomal skin complications and when to seek help. Not only do these complications require vigilant self-observation, but many patients don’t understand their implications or how rapidly they can worsen. In some cases, the first symptoms are itching and redness under the skin barrier. Fortunately, some patients may know or remember that itching, burning, stinging, reddened, or weeping peristomal skin requires professional attention. They can avoid serious complications by seeking assistance early, such as right after noticing pouch leakage.
Early treatment can reduce the cost of treatment. In a 2012 study, researchers estimated care costs related to peristomal skin complications for a 7-week treatment period, using the Ostomy Skin Tool as a reference. Severe complications (those with a DET score above 8) cost six times more to treat than mild cases (those with a DET score below 4) and 4.5 times more than moderate cases.
Along with early intervention by a trained ostomy care specialist, self-assessment by ostomy patients promotes a better quality of life, reduces pain, and may decrease care costs. Clinicians’ use of the Ostomy Skin Tool to assess and document peristomal skin complications promotes more reliable, objective, comparable assessment data for reporting.
Selected references
Al-Niaimi F, Lyon CC. Primary adenocarcinoma in peristomal skin: a case study. Ostomy Wound Manage. 2010;56(1):45-7.
Burch J. Management of stoma complications. Nurs Times. 2011;107(45):17-8, 20.
Jemec GB, Martins L, Claessens I, et al. Assessing peristomal skin changes in ostomy patients: validation of the Ostomy Skin Tool. Br J Dermatol. 2011; 164;330-5.
Jones T, Springfield T, Brudwick M, Ladd A. Fecal ostomies: practical management for the home health clinician. Home Healthc Nurse. 2011;29(5):306-17.
Martins L, Samai O, Fernandez A, et al. Maintaining healthy skin around an ostomy: peristomal skin disorders and self-assessment. Gastrointest Nurs. 2011;
9(2):9-13.
Martins L, Tavernelli K, Serrano JLC. Introducing a peristomal skin assessment tool: The Ostomy Skin Tool. World Council Enterostomal Therapists J. 2008;28(2):3-13.
Meisner S, Lehur P, Moran B, et al. Peristomal skin complications are common, expensive, and difficult to manage: a population based cost modeling study. PLoS One. 2012;7(5):e37813.
Omura Y, Yamabe M, Anazawa S. Peristomal skin disorders in patients with intestinal and urinary ostomies: influence of adhesive forces of various hydrocolloid wafer skin barriers. J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 2010;37(3):289-98.
Ratliff CR. Early peristomal skin complications reported by WOC nurses. J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 2010;37(5):505-10.
Shabbir J, Britton DC. Stomal complications: a literature overview. Colorectal Dis. 2010;12(10):958- 64.
Wound, Ostomy, Continence Clinical Practice Ostomy Subcommittee. Peristomal skin complications: Best practice for clinicians. Mt. Laurel, NJ; 2007.
The authors work for RecoverCare, LLC, in Louisville, Kentucky. Rosalyn Jordan is director of clinical education and Marci Christian is a clinical associate product specialist.
The number of people with diabetes who are meeting the ABC goals—hemoglobin A1C, blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol—has risen significantly in recent years, according to a study published by Diabetes Care. Patients meeting all three goals rose from about 2% in 1988 to about 19% in 2010.
Gains were made in each of the ABC goals, based on 2007 to 2010 data: 53% of patients met A1C goals, compared to 43% in 1988 to 1994 data; 51% met blood pressure goals, compared to 33%; and 56% met LDL goals, compared to 10%.
Younger people were less likely to meet A1C and cholesterol goals. Compared with non-
Hispanic whites, Mexican Americans were less likely to meet A1C and LDL goals and non-Hispanic blacks were less likely to meet blood pressure and LDL goals.
The researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1988–1994, 1999–2002, 2003–2006, and 2007–2010. Nearly 5,000 people age 20 or older participated.
Although progress had been made, the researchers conclude, “Despite significant improvement during the past decade, achieving the ABC goals remains suboptimal among adults with diabetes, particularly in some minority groups.”
Daily bathing with chlorhexidine-impregnated washcloths reduces infection risk
A study in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that daily bathing with chlorhexidine-impregnated washcloths reduces the risk of becoming infected with multidrug-resistant organisms and subsequent development of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients.
“Effect of daily chlorhexidine bathing on hospital-acquired infection” included 7,727 patients in nine intensive care and bone marrow units in six hospitals. The units were randomly assigned to bathe patients with either no-rinse 2% chlorhexidine-impregnated washcloths or nonantimicrobial washcloths for 6 months; then, the units switched to the opposite product for 6 months.
The rate of infection with multidrug-resistant organisms was 23% lower in the chlorhexidine group and the rate of hospital-acquired bloodstream infection was 28% lower in the chlorhexidine group.
Patients tend not to wear custom-made footwear for preventing diabetic foot ulcers
Adherence to wearing prescription custom-made footwear was low among patients with diabetes, neuropathy, and a recently healed plantar foot ulcer, according to a study in Diabetes Care. The low adherence was particularly notable at home, where patients did the most walking.
Factors associated with higher adherence included lower body mass index, more severe foot deformity, and more appealing footwear.
Tedizolid works as well as linezolid in patients with acute bacterial skin infections
A JAMA study says that a 200-mg once-daily dose of oral tedizolid phosphate over 6 days was as effective as 600 mg of oral linezolid every 12 hours for 10 days in patients with acute bacterial skin and skin-structure infections, including cellulitis or erysipelas, major cutaneous abscesses, and wound infections.
A shorter course of tedizolid may be a “reasonable alternative” to linezolid for treating acute bacterial skin and skin-structure infections, the study concludes.
Water-based exercise improves ROM in patients with long-term arm lymphedema
A study of breast cancer survivors (median 10 years after surgery) with lymphedema found that a water-based exercise program improved shoulder range of motion (ROM).
The program consisted of at least twice-weekly water-based exercise for 8 weeks. At first, participants were supervised, but later they exercised independently. Although lymphedema status didn’t change, those who performed water-based exercise had an increase in ROM, showing improvement years after surgery.
Dehydrated amniotic membrane allograft possible option for treating chronic wounds
A dehydrated amniotic membrane allograft (EpiFix) was used to treat four patients whose wounds hadn’t closed after conservative and advanced measures and who had been referred for plastic procedures. A variety of wounds healed (located on the elbow, knee, hand, and ankle) after one to three applications of the amniotic material, which patients tolerated well. The wounds remained closed several months later.
Study casts doubt on MLD’s role in breast cancer–related lymphedema
A meta-analysis published in the World Journal of Surgical Oncology found the “current evidence” from randomized clinical trials “does not support” the use of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) in preventing or treating lymphedema in patients with breast cancer.
The authors analyzed 10 randomized clinical trials with 566 patients.
CDC issues additional prevention steps for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae
On Feb. 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued additional prevention steps for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Increased reports of CRE prompted the action: Of the 37 unusual forms of CRE reported in the U.S., the last 15 have been reported since July 2012.
• When a CRE is identified in a patient with a history of an overnight stay in a healthcare facility (within the last 6 months) outside the U.S., send the isolate to a reference laboratory for confirmatory susceptibility testing and test to determine the carbapenem resistance mechanism.
• For patients admitted to healthcare facilities in the U.S. after recently being hospitalized (within the last 6 months) in countries outside the U.S., consider performing rectal screening cultures to detect CRE colonization, and place patients on contact precautions while awaiting the results.
Examples of Enterobacteriaceae include Klebsiella species and Escherichia coli. CRE are Enterobacteriaceae with high levels of resistance to antibiotics, including carbapenems. CRE infections most commonly occur among patients who are receiving antibiotics and significant medical treatment for other conditions.
Editor’s note: Part 1 of this series, published in the September-October issue, discussed lymphedema pathology and diagnosis. This article, Part 2, covers treatment.
Traditional treatment approaches
Traditionally, lymphedema treatment has been approached without a clear understanding of the underlying structure and function of lymphatic tissues. Ineffective traditional treatments include elevation, elastic garments, pneumatic pumps, surgery, diuretics, and benzopyrones (such as warfarin). Because many traditional treatments are still overused and some may be appropriate for limited use, it’s important for clinicians to understand these approaches.
Elevation
As a sole therapy for lymphedema, elevation of the affected part provides only short-lived results. Ever-increasing macromolecular wastes retain water against the effects of gravity. Increased interstitial colloid osmotic pressure must be addressed by interventions targeted at improving lymphatic function—not just a position change. Otherwise, lymphedema will progress. Furthermore, elevation alone is impractical, promotes deconditioning, and alters lifestyle for prolonged periods.
Elastic garments
Elastic garments prove inadequate because they attempt to treat lymphedema with compression alone. Medically correct garments are engineered with thoughtful attention to high-quality textiles and offer gradient support, which promotes proximal flow. However, without precise tissue stimulation leading to improved lymphangioactivity (lymph-vessel pulsation), macromolecular wastes can’t be removed.
Interstitial pressure increases caused by compression garments impede further fluid accumulation. When these garments are removed, the spontaneous girth increase causes an imprecise fit, and the garment rapidly leads to a countertherapeutic effect. Furthermore, compression garments don’t combat the osmotic forces generated by ever-increasing interstitial wastes. Except in patients diagnosed with stage 0 or stage 1 lymphedema, disease progression involving metaplasia ensues. Although elastic compression garments are a cornerstone of long-term management, they shouldn’t be used as a stand-alone treatment.
Pneumatic compression pump
Formerly, the pneumatic compression pump (PCP) was considered the standard of care for lymphedema. However, when inflated, the pump doesn’t increase the frequency of lymph-vessel contraction or enhance lymph capillary absorption. What’s more, accelerated fibrosis development and rapid tissue refilling occur when a PCP is removed. Also, PCP use disregards the ipsilateral territory of the excised regional nodes, effectively dumping fluid from the leg into the trunk. A PCP is appropriate only when nothing else is available, as it may worsen the patient’s condition.
Surgery
Surgical approaches to treating lymphedema involve either excisional (debulking) or microsurgical techniques. The most extensive surgical technique, the radical Charles procedure, completely debulks all involved tissue down to the muscle fascia. Split-thickness grafts are then harvested from excised skin and donor sites, and applied to the fascia to achieve so-called limb reduction.
Most debulking procedures have been applied to lower-extremity lymphedema and offer poor cosmetic results. Less radical surgeries favor long incisions, preserving the skin but excising subcutaneous edematous portions to reduce girth. Although less cosmetically alarming, these procedures effectively amputate the subcutaneous space where lymph vessels reside. Other surgical approaches are beyond the scope of this article.
Generally, surgery isn’t a good approach for any patient, as it’s linked to significant morbidity, such as skin necrosis, infection, and sensory changes. In the future, less invasive procedures may be available that yield significant improvement without these adverse effects.
Diuretics
Although diuretics are prescribed appropriately to address water-rich edemas of venous origin, they disregard the fact that lymphedema is a protein-rich edema. Long-term, high-dose diuretic therapy leads to treatment-resistant limbs, similar to those that have received intensive pneumatic compression.
Benzopyrones
Benzopyrones such as warfarin decrease swelling by combating protein accumulation in fluid. Such drugs have undergone clinical trials abroad. Their mechanism is to promote macrophage migration into interstitial fluid, as well as subsequent proteolysis. Due to significant risk of liver damage or failure, benzopyrones haven’t been approved for treating lymphedema.
Complete decongestive therapy: The current treatment approach
Currently, the gold standard for lymphedema treatment is complete decongestive therapy (CDT). Michael Foeldi and Etelka Foeldi, who originated this method, discovered a unique symbiotic relationship among five distinct modalities that addresses the challenges of lymphedema treatment. In 1989, CDT was brought to the United States by Robert Lerner and has become the mainstay of lymphedema treatment here.
CDT is a two-phase approach involving an intensive clinical effort followed by a semi-intensive home-care program geared toward autonomous management, stabilization, and continual improvement. It involves manual lymph drainage (MLD), compression bandaging, exercise, skin and nail hygiene, and self-care education. (See Phases of complete decongestive therapy by clicking the PDF icon above.)
Manual lymph drainage
A type of soft-tissue mobilization, MLD provides skin traction, stimulating superficial lymph vessels and nodes. Lymph capillaries contain large inter-endothelial inlets called swinging tips, akin to overlapping shingles. Each overlapping cell is tethered to the interstitial matrix by anchoring filaments, so that fluid increases cause immediate distention and lymph inflow. Manual skin traction using MLD promotes greater lymph fluid uptake by stretching these filamentous structures, opening the swinging tips.
MLD also provides extrinsic stimulation of the lymphangion (the segment of a lymph vessel between a distal and proximal valve), drawing fluid into the system at the capillary level and promoting flow at the vessel level toward regional lymph nodes. Usually, these segments contract and relax in a rhythmic fashion six times per minute. MLD triples this output to 18 or 20 times per minute, greatly enhancing systemic transport.
MLD requires intensive daily treatment sessions to strengthen collateral flow as a pathway to circumventing surgical or developmental lymphatic disruption. Treatment strategies further recruit more deeply situated lymphatics such as the thoracic duct, as well as lumbar trunks that empty at the juncture of the internal jugular and subclavian veins to improve global uptake. MLD thus stimulates deeper vessel angioactivity to help drain the superficial vessels that drain toward them.
Compression bandaging
Compression bandaging provides tissue support after MLD to prevent reflux, slow new fluid formation, and mechanically soften fibrotic areas. Bandaging techniques provide a high working pressure to harness the muscle and joint pumps as a propellant for lymph while resisting retrograde flow created by gravity and centrifugal forces during movement. Pure cotton materials coupled with specialized padding create a soft, castlike environment, which confines swollen tissues without constriction. By relying on high working pressure and low resting pressures to decrease limb swelling, this strategy achieves greater control over intensity (level of compression/pressure exerted), with little to no soft-tissue injury or discomfort.
The patient wears this bulky inelastic complex after each MLD treatment until the next day’s session to ensure limb-volume reduction in a stable, linear fashion. Once a plateau is reached, tissue stabilization and self-care education are the goals of additional sessions.
Exercise
Exercise always must be done with adequate support to counteract fluid formation. During the intensive CDT phase, limbs are bandaged to provide complete around-the-clock containment. Gentle exercises encourage blood flow into the muscle; during muscle contraction, this creates a favorable internal pressure that effectively squeezes the subcutaneous space between the bandage wall and muscle. Because every bandage strives to provide a gradient of support, fluid tends to drain proximally to the bandage—in most cases, to the trunk.
Skin and nail hygiene
Without intact, well-hydrated skin, cellulitic infections occur in many lymphedema patients whose immune response has been diminished by regional lymphadenectomy or inherited deficiencies. To prevent infection caused by avoidable external events, patients receive clear guidelines to reinforce appropriate behavior. As most cellulitis results from resident skin pathogens (streptococci and staphylococci), maintaining a low skin pH helps control colonization. Ways to avoid recurrent infections include maintaining an acid mantle on the skin using low-pH-formulated lotions and avoiding injury from daily tasks that may scratch, puncture, burn, or abrade the skin. Patients should receive lists of self-care precautions at the time of treatment.
Self-care education
Because lymphedema is a chronic condition, patients must receive self-care education for daily management to avoid lymphedema destabilization, which can lead to tissue saturation and subsequent skin changes. Therapists must provide patients with appropriate self-care tools and knowledge to maintain adequate treatment results. Teaching topics include how to apply and remove compression garments and bandages and how to exercise safely, preserve skin integrity, monitor for infection, and respond appropriately to infection and significant changes in limb mobility.
An underrecognized and mistreated problem
Lymphedema remains an underrecognized and mistreated condition, even though CDT yields safe, reliable results. Early detection, accurate staging, proper diagnosis, and appropriate treatment can slow the inevitable progression of lymphedema. Wound care specialists should adapt wound therapy to address not just the wound but the edematous environment responsible for delayed wound resolution.
Selected references
Al-Niaimi F, Cox N. Cellulitis and lymphedema: a vicious cycle. J Lymphoedema. 2009;4:38-42.
Browse N, Burnand KG, Mortimer PS. Diseases of the Lymphatics. London: Hodder Arnold; 2003.
Casley-Smith JR, Casley-Smith JR. Modern Treatment for Lymphoedema. 5th ed. The Lymphoedema Association of Australia; 1997.
Cooper R, White R. Cutaneous infections in lymphoedema. J Lymphoedema. 2009:4:44-8.
Foeldi M. Foeldi’s Textbook of Lymphology: For Physicians and Lymphedema Therapists. 3rd ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby; 2012.
International Society of Lymphology. The diagnosis and treatment of peripheral lymphedema. Consensus Document of the International Society of Lymphology. Lymphology. 2009 Jun;42(2):51-60.
Leduc A, Bastin R, Bourgeois P. Lymphatic reabsorption of proteins and pressotherapies. Progress in Lymphology XI. 1988:591-2.
National Lymphedema Network Medical Advisory Committee. Position Statement: Lymphedema Risk Reduction Practices. Revised May 2012. http://www.lymphnet.org/pdfDocs/nlnriskreduction.pdf. Accessed September 5, 2012.
Pappas CJ, O’Donnell TF Jr. Long-term results of compression treatment for lymphedema. J Vasc Surg. 1992 Oct;16(4):555-62.
Whittlinger H. Textbook of Dr. Vodder’s Manual Lymphatic Drainage. Vol 1. 7th ed. New York, NY: Thieme; 2003.
Steve Norton is cofounder of Lymphedema & Wound Care Education and executive director of the Norton School of Lymphatic Therapy in Matawan, New Jersey.
Before discharge, a new ostomy patient and caregiver have a lot to learn, including how to empty the pouch, establish a schedule for pouch changes, measure the stoma to ensure protection from effluent, and use accessory supplies appropriately.
By Nancy Morgan, MBA, BSN, RN, WOC, WCC, CWCMS, DWC
Each month, Apple Bites brings you a tool you can apply in your daily practice.
Description
• Semipermeable polyurethane foam dressing
• Nonadherent and nonlinting
• Hydrophobic or waterproof outer layer
• Provides moist wound environment
• Permeable to water vapor but blocks entry of bacteria and contaminants
• Available in various thicknesses with or without adhesive borders
• Available in pads, sheets, and cavity dressings (more…)
By combining bioactive peptides, researchers have successfully stimulated wound healing in an in vitro and in vivo study. The studies, published in PLoS ONE, show that the combination of two peptides stimulates growth of blood vessels and promotes tissue re-growth of tissue. Further research into these peptides could potentially lead to new therapies for chronic and acute wounds.
The researchers evaluated a newly-created peptide, UN3, in pre-clinical models with the goal of simulating impaired wound healing as in patients suffering from peripheral vascular diseases or uncontrolled diabetes. They discovered that the peptide increased the development of blood vessel walls by 50%, with an 250% increase in blood vessel growth, and a 300% increase in cell migration in response to the injury. (more…)
