Skin benefits from continuous topical administration of a zinc oxide/petrolatum formulation by a novel disposable diaper.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Petrolatum and Zinc Oxide, published as a randomized controlled trial.

Diaper dermatitis is a common childhood affliction.

Who Took Part

The study group was 268 infants.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were infants, teenagers, adults and middle-aged adults, women only.

Study A was conducted to confirm transfer of the zinc oxide/petrolatum (ZnO/Pet) formulation from the diaper to the child's skin during use.

Children wore a single diaper for 3 h or multiple diapers for 24 h.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized and double-blind study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Petrolatum and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

As a double-blind Petrolatum study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

All studies were independent, blinded, randomized clinical trials.

After the use period, stratum corneum samples were taken from each child and analysed for ZnO/Pet.

One half of the infants used the ZnO/Pet diaper, while the other half used a control diaper that was identical except for the absence of the ZnO/Pet formulation.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Administration, Topical, Dermatologic Agents, Diaper Rash, Drug Delivery Systems, Emollients, Erythema and Infant Care.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and double-blind study of Petrolatum and Zinc Oxide in 268 infants.

Its findings take up roughly 6 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2001 (Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV), a journal based in England.

More context: all human trials.