Use of Active Leptospermum Honey to Aide in Promoting Autolytic Debridement and Wound Healing in Challenging Chronic Wounds

The care and management of patients with chronic wounds and their far-reaching effects challenge both the patient and the practitioner. In the current healthcare environment, clinicians are increasingly under pressure to use wound care products that can be used in a variety of wounds to achieve different outcomes, depending on the wound bed requirements.

            This series of 7 wounds focuses on topical wound care, in particular, ALH. The three patients involved were chosen due to the chronicity of the wounds despite other advanced methods of treatment including but not limited to bactroban, silicone foam dressings, cadexomer iodine gel, doxycycline, and compression.  The patients had multiple co-morbidities including dyslipidemia, obesity, mycosis fungoides, mastectomy, and venous insufficiency. The treatment plan was changed to ALH with an absorptive secondary dressing to assess if topical dressings like ALH will promote autolytic debridement and wound healing.

            In evaluating the outcomes, it is evident that even with varied etiologies, wound age, and co-morbidities a common outcome was the reduction in necrotic tissue of at least 40% in two weeks with the addition of ALH, despite having been non-healing with previous topical dressing choices. Wound area also improved. All patients verbalized satisfaction with the improvement in the wounds.

            Further research is encouraged to determine effect on additional wound types looking at rate of necrotic tissue removal and wound healing.