Evaluation of the effectiveness of the use of modern self-adhesive silicone postoperative dressings

Abstract

Introduction. When performing dressings on surgical patients, dressings must combine a barrier function and low trauma to the edges of the wound and surrounding skin.
Target. To conduct a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of using adhesive- and silicone-based postoperative bandages.
Material and methods. The study included 98 patients with postoperative wounds of the anterior abdominal wall after closure of intestinal stomas, laparotomies and minilaparotomies. In group I of patients (n = 50), new silicone-based dressings (Cosmopor silicone) were used. In group II patients (n = 48), adhesive bandages were used. The observation period was 10 days. We assessed the pain syndrome when removing the bandage, the presence of skin damage, the presence of subjective complaints of itching, burning, discomfort in the bandage area, and the number of purulent-septic complications.
Results and discussion. When using silicone-based patch-type dressings, the number of patients with unsatisfactory skin condition decreased from 8 cases in the control group to 1 observation. The intensity of pain when removing the bandages decreased statistically significantly on the 6th and 9th days of observation in the main group – 0.8 ± 0.5 and 3.6 ± 1.0 points, respectively. Statistically significant differences were obtained in subjective complaints of discomfort and itching under the dressing material. The same number of purulentseptic complications in the form of suppuration of postoperative wounds in the comparison groups (χ² = 0.002; p = 3.841) confirms that silicone-based dressings are not inferior in barrier function to adhesive-based dressings.
Conclusion. Cosmopor silicone self-adhesive patch-type bandages on a silicone base improve the subjective sensations of patients, reduce the incidence of pathological conditions of the skin and wound surface, prevent increased pain during their removal, are applied for a longer period and do not affect the number of purulent-septic complications.