Comparative in-vitro Assessment of Adhesive Border Foam Dressings Using a Validated Periwound Protection Test Method

Background: There are many causes of periwound damage including one of the most common, maceration. The periwound skin becomes vulnerable to maceration when the volume of drainage is greater than can be managed by the chosen dressing.

Purpose: A validated test method was utilized to compare the moisture management capabilities of a new border foam dressing* (study dressing) to other commercial border foam dressings.

Method: In this method, a horizontal simulated wound was surrounded by gauze to represent the periwound and covered by a border foam dressing.  Simulated wound fluid (SWF) was delivered at 0.2 mL/hour which is consistent with a moderately exuding wound. Six replicates of each border foam dressing and simulated periwound (gauze) were analyzed qualitatively (residual fluid inspection) and quantitatively (percent SWF absorbed) after 24 hours. An ideal dressing will reduce the risk of maceration by absorbing the SWF quickly enough that little to no SWF reaches the simulated periwound.  

Results: On average, the study dressing reduced the amount of SWF absorbed by the simulated periwound (gauze) by a factor of 20.