The influence of dressings on venous ulcer healing--a randomised trial.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Zinc Oxide.

To assess the effect of different dressings on venous ulcer healing.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults, older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

Patients were randomised to treatment with one of three dressings: a zinc oxide impregnated bandage, a zinc oxide impregnated stockingette, or an alginate dressing.

All patients were treated as outpatients and had compression bandaging with two minimal stretch bandages (Elastocrepe) and a stockingette (Tubigrip) to keep the bandages in place.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Zinc Oxide group and the comparison group should start out alike.

One hundred and thirteen patients (133 ulcerated limbs) with chronic ulceration of the leg due to venous disease alone, and attending Fremantle Hospital Leg Ulcer Clinic, Western Australia were entered into the study.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Bandages, Chronic Disease, Varicose Ulcer and Zinc Oxide.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Zinc Oxide.

Results are reported in around 4 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 1997 (European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery), a journal based in England.

More context: all human trials.