Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the efficacy of a plant-derived wound dressing, a mixture of hypericum oil (Hypericum perforatum) and neem oil (Azadirachta indica), in scalp wounds with exposed bone.
METHOD:
A retrospective review was conducted of all patients presenting with scalp wounds with exposed bone following the excision of skin tumours and treated with a plant-derived wound dressings (1 Primary Wound Dressing; Phytoceuticals AG), from January to July 2011. Time to healing, wound size, area of exposed bone, ease of handling, pain and complications were evaluated.
RESULTS:
Nine consecutive patients were analysed retrospectively. The patients' mean age was 81.2 ± 8.5 years (63-90 years), with a mean wound size of 13.2 ± 6.8cm(2) (0.4-22.6cm(2)) and 6.8 ± 6.5cm(2) (0.3-20.7cm(2)) of exposed bone. The time to complete healing by secondary intention was 4-20 weeks. A rapid induction of granulation tissue was observed, which covered the entire exposed bone surface in six out of nine cases (67%) after 4 weeks, and showed a reduction in the mean area of exposed bone of 95%. Dressing change was easy and without pain and there were no complications.
CONCLUSION:
This retrospective, non-controlled analysis suggests that ONE is a very simple to use, safe and potentially effective therapy for the treatment of scalp wounds with exposed bone.
DECLARATION OF INTEREST:
There were no external sources of funding for this study. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Läuchli, S