International wound journal
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Comparative Study
A model for quantitative evaluation of skin damage at adhesive wound dressing removal.
The removal of adhesive wound dressings from the wound surface involves a risk of damaging the intact stratum corneum and regenerating epithelium. Pain associated with the removal of wound dressings is a major issue for patients and medical personnel. Recently, wound dressings coated with a silicone adhesive have been developed to reduce such skin damage and pain on removal and they have received good evaluation in various clinical settings. ⋯ The assessment method utilised in this study revealed distinct differences between wound dressing types, but less variation in the evaluation outcome of each type. This assessment method may be useful for the evaluation of adhesive wound dressings, particularly during product development. However, further studies will be needed to examine the effectiveness of this assessment method in the clinical setting because the adherent properties of polyurethane and hydrocolloid adhesives may be altered by the absorption of water from the skin.