Polymeric Membrane Dressings* Provide Excellent Benefits for Palliative Care

<>Problem: An elderly woman hoped we could diminish her wound odor so that her grandchildren would to attend her burial.  A young man with a pus-filled Marjolin's ulcer was sleep-deprived from pain.  A middle-aged man with a thirty year history of multiple painful ulcers on both lower extremities with copious putrid exudate was desperate for improvement.  All of these patients’ lives were consumed by the pain and stench of their severe wounds.

Rationale: Any improvement in wound pain or odor would help these patients tremendously.  Dressings needed to contain exudate and help prevent infections from becoming systemic.  Polymeric membrane dressings help reduce wound pain by inhibiting nociceptor activity at the wound site.  Glycerol in the dressings is odor-reducing.  Starch co-polymers give the dressings superior absorption by locking exudate in the dressing in gel form.

Methodology:  After initial cleansing, patients received antibiotics and polymeric membrane dressings were applied. The Marjolin’s ulcer required polymeric membrane cavity filler between layers of lumpy tissue.  Initially, triple antibiotic ointment was used under the dressings on the middle-aged man’s wounds.  The old woman’s wound produced copious exudative, requiring a layer of polymeric membrane cavity filler under extra-thick polymeric membrane dressings.  Prayers were integral in the care.  All of these patients received daily dressing changes due to systemic infection risk and high exudate levels. 

Results:  Soon after polymeric membrane dressings were first used on the Marjolin’s ulcer patient, his pain diminished so that he was able to sleep at night.  The middle-aged man boasted that his wife welcomed him back into her room for the first time in many years.  The older woman had such remarkable pain relief that she would not try any other dressing. 

Conclusion: Through the use of polymeric membrane dressings, these patients all experienced a significant reduction in wound odor and pain.