Khurram Siddique, Shirin Mirza, Philip Housden.
Use of hydrocolloid dressing in the post-operative orthopedic cases.
J Surg Pak Jan ;15(4):197-9.

Objective To determine the frequency of superficial surgical site infection (SSSI) and blister formation in post-operative orthopaedic patients with the use of hydrocolloid dressings. Study design Descriptive case series. Place & Duration of study From October 2008 to April 2009 at Trauma & Orthopaedics department of William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent, United Kingdom. Methodology In all patients undergoing lower limb orthopaedic procedures transparent hydrocolloid dressing (Duoderm) was applied to the wounds. The assessment of wound for SSSI and blister formation was made by a trained single observer on the day 1, 3 and 5 after surgery. Plasma protein level, haemog lobin and creatinine were also measured post operatively. Descriptive statistics were computed for quantitative variables. Data were analyzed in SPSS-14. Results Out of a total of 50 patients 60% were females. Thirty patients underwent elective surgery while 20 had an emergency surgery. Mean plasma protein level was 3.3 gm/dl, mean haemoglobin level was 10 gm/dl and mean post-operative creatinine was 123 mmol/l. Only 6% developed some serous discharge which resolved spontaneously and none of the patients developed post-operative SSSI or blister formation. Conclusions Hydrocolloid dressings can be safely used for post-operative orthopaedic cases.

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