Open surgical wounds: how does Aquacel compare with wet-to-dry gauze?

OBJECTIVE: To compare the healing rates of a hydrofibre dressing (Aquacel) and normal wet-to-dry gauze in the treatment of open surgical wounds. METHOD: Fifty patients with open surgical wounds were randomized to receive either saline-moistened gauze or Aquacel. The rate of wound healing was measured as ml/day (deep wounds) or cm2/day (superficial wounds) at each dressing change until an investigator blinded to the patient group diagnosed the wounds as having healed or the patient was withdrawn from the study. RESULTS: Of the 50 patients, seven were withdrawn from the study after the first evaluation. Of the remaining 43 patients, 21 had been randomly allocated to the gauze group and 22 to the Aquacel group. For deep wounds, a mean change in the wound healing rate of 1.9 +/- 1.3 cm3/day was reported for the gauze group and 2.9 +/- 2.3 cm3/day for the Aquacel group. These results approach statistical significance (p = 0.082). For superficial wounds, the mean change in the healing rate was 1.6 +/- 1.5 cm2/day for the gauze group and 1.9 +/- 2.2 cm2/day for the Aquacel group, but this was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Aquacel appears to be at least as effective as wet-to-dry gauze in the healing of open surgical wounds.