Open wounds and ulcers on the foot can be extremely difficult to treat. However, a new wound-dressing powder that acts like a layer of skin is proving to speed healing time and reduce the amount of pain that a patient suffering from a serious foot ulcer would normally experience. The powder forms a solid, nonresorbable moist dressing after contact with exudate, and can be left in place on the skin for up to seven days between dressing changes.
This wound powder may be especially promising for the nearly 24 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetic foot ulcers are the leading cause of non-traumatic, lower-limb amputations in the United States. In a recent APMA survey, 18 percent of people with diabetes reported that they have experienced a foot sore that would not heal. This powder’s successful treatment of difficult foot wounds could potentially lead to a reduction in amputation rates.
Results of a study on the powder will be released at the American Podiatric Medical Association’s (APMA) 97th Annual Scientific Meeting in Toronto, July 30-August 2. The study included treatment of ruptured lymphangiomas, a pyoderma grangrenosum, and a sickle-cell ulcer. It focused on atypical wounds with irregular shapes and causes. The wounds were treated with the powder dressing once a week for four to eight weeks. The study ultimately showed that the powder dressing provided a painless treatment that assisted in closing the wound. The powder also helped in preparing the wound for potential further interventions, such as skin grafts or suturing.
“This new powder aggregates, or comes together, in an amazing flexible film that mimics the wound’s surface and helps it to retain moisture and protect the wound, but still allows the right amount of air flow needed for the wound to close,” said Tracey Vlahovic, DPM, the lead podiatric physician for the study and associate professor at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “My colleagues and I are excited to continue working with this new wound powder product and look forward to its future uses in treating notoriously difficult types of foot wounds we regularly encounter.”
For more information visit www.apma.org/ASM09.
