The Use of an Antimicrobial Moisture Management Dressing Paired With a Gellable Fiber Technology under a Two-layer Compression System in the Treatment of Heavily Exudating VLUs Improves Clinical Outcomes and Cost Savings.

Introduction: Chronic venous insufficiency is the 7th most common chronic disease and is the underlying cause of 95% of leg ulcers1. Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) are difficult to treat and even with proper care can take a minimum of 12 weeks to heal2. VLUs are a clinical challenge because they are notoriously heavily draining wounds. This drainage contributes to the formation of excessive bioburden, devitalized tissue, and microorganisms, all which prolong wound healing. In order to effectively manage VLU exudate it is not uncommon to change dressings 3 or more times weekly. More frequent dressing changes increase the overall cost of care and may further contribute to delayed wound healing.

Materials and Methods: This is a single center retrospective analysis examining the impact of a new dressing combination consisting of an antimicrobial moisture management dressing*, an innovative gellable fiber dressing** , and a two-layer compression system*** vs SOC for the treatment of heavily draining VLUs in an outpatient wound clinic. A total of 6 patients records were analyzed for 4 weeks prior and 4 weeks after converting to the new dressing regimen. Weekly data collected consisted of frequency of bandage changes, cost of wound dressings, wound size, wound tissue appearance, exudate amount, and quality of the peri-wound skin.

Results: The number of dressing changes reduced from 2.98 per week to 1.2 per week. Wound area reduced weekly with the use of the new dressing regimen. There was a 55.6 % reduction in weekly dressing costs with the new dressing combination. There were no adverse events and patient satisfaction was high.

Conclusion: By using this advanced wound dressing combination in conjunction with multilayer compression wrap therapy, we were able to facilitate healing in a difficult to treat patient population while reducing overall cost of care.