A Prospective, Within-Patient Controlled Study to Compare the Ability of the Non Adherent Drawtex® Hydroconductive Dressing to a Transparent Polyurethane Film Dressing (Standard of Care) on the Healing of Split-Thickness Skin Graft Donor Sites*

Abstract

Background: Dressing of split-thickness skin graft donor sites can be traumatic for the patient. The most advanced and expensive dressings have been compared to the most basic of dressings, with little or no consensus and an unpersuasive level of evidence. We aimed to determine the efficacy of the locally manufactured non-adherent, hydroconductive Drawtex® dressing and compare it to our current standard-of-care dressing, a thin transparent polyurethane film, in the healing of split-thickness donor sites. Methods: This prospective, within-patient controlled study included 27 adult participants, each with two split-thickness skin donor sites. The 54 donor site wounds were compared with regard to time to re-epithelialisation, perceived pain and healed wound quality. Results: By day 5, complete healing of donor site wounds, defined as >90% of epithelialized surface, was significantly higher in the hydroconductive dressing group compared to the polyurethane film group (22.2% and 3.7%, respectively; p < 0.0001). The hydroconductive dressing-treated donor site wounds were significantly less painful at 24-hours, *A research report on the original work presented in this article has been approved in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine by the University of the Witwatersrand.