BACTERIAL CELLULOSE WOUND DRESSING: A PROMISING BIOPOLYMER IN PARTIAL-THICKNESS SKIN GRAFT DONOR SITES

Eduardo de Oliveira Magalhães, Flávia Cristina Morone Pinto*, Amanda Vasconcelos de Albuquerque, Rafaela de Siqueira Ferraz Carvalho and José Lamartine de Andrade Aguiar

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate the use of Bacterial Cellulose (BC) dressing as a temporary wound coverage for skin autografts in comparison with the conventional. Methods: Twenty patients submitted to skin autografts were divided into two groups: BC group that received a BC membrane dressing and control group (CG) that received Vaseline gauze. The sociodemographic and clinical variables of the participants (age; gender; wound bed and dressing aspects, including self-adherence; pain intensity measurement by the analog scale and pruritus intensity; wound healing time; granulation and re-epithelialization wound tissue) were compared. Results: The patients' average age was 30.4±11.4 (BC group) and 43.9±15.1 (CG group). There was a reduction in the referred pain scale from 2.75 to 1.6 in the BC and from 3.3 to 2.4 in the CG and a decrease sensation related to pruritus was observed, especially in the BC group, with no statistical difference between groups (1st POD, p= .658; 7th POD, p= .354). A trend of decreased healing time was observed in BC group (15.8 days) compared to the CG (19.4 days), with no statistical difference (p= .08). The BC dressing proved to be compatible, adhered well to the wound bed and detached itself after wound re-epithelialization. Conclusion: The BC wound dressing adheres naturally to the wound bed, this may explain why the healing time may have been shorter in this group, and can be an effective alternative in promoting and accelerating the healing process.

Keywords: Skin transplantation, Autologous, Biocompatible Materials, Wound Healing, Bandages.