Expanding your Options beyond Higher Cost Therapies for Cost Effective Treatment of Acute and Chronic Wounds with Innovative Technology: Hydroconductive Dressings

With Health Care Reform now approaching, there is a need to improve outcomes while reducing costs. We are in need of developing wound healing strategies that will have improved effectiveness. Hospitals could be paid higher levels of compensation for more cost effective services such as with wound care. Objectives:Our objectives for trialing a Hydroconductive dressing* was to find alternatives for decreasing edema in and around the wound bed by removing excess exudate and to remove the debris, tissue bacteria, and deleterious chemicals that impede wound healing. Methods:A 5 patient case study was performed ranging from treatment of a patient with several abscesses to the buttocks, a necrotic infected finger resulting from a spider bite, treatment of a nonhealing pyoderma gangrenosum, treatment of a highly draining abdominal surgical wound and treatment of a patient with venous stasis ulcers. Results:Outcomes were positive in several areas that were not present with current advanced wound care dressings in our institution. Patients were able to have fewer primary dressing changes with only the need for the secondary dressing needing changed due to the action of the hydroconductive dressing wicking the excess exudate into the secondary dressing. This resulted in less discomfort to the patient and could potentially be a cost savings for the hospital with decreased dressing supplies and cost such as with NPWT. The dressing used several mechanisms of action that loosened adherent slough for easy removal when the dressings were changed without the need for enzymatic debriding agents or conservative sharp debridement in chronic wound care. Conclusion: In conclusion, hydroconductive dressing characteristics make it an alternative choice for creating an environment for ideal healing to take place.