Performance of a silicone foam dressing in management of wounds in a community setting: a sub-analysis of the VIPES study

J Wound Care. 2024 Aug 2;33(8):542-553. doi: 10.12968/jowc.2024.0122.

Abstract

Objective: Managing the gap between the dressing and the wound bed can facilitate the healing of exuding wounds. A silicone foam dressing (Biatain Silicone; Coloplast A/S, Denmark) was developed for application to exuding wounds. A sub-analysis of the real-world, prospective, observational VIPES (Observatoire en Ville des Plaies ExSudatives) study was conducted to investigate the use and performance of the silicone foam dressing in a community nursing setting in France.

Method: The sub-analysis included patients from the VIPES study who received the silicone foam dressing as a primary dressing for an acute or hard-to-heal (chronic) wound. Epidemiological and wound healing outcomes were reported via a smartphone application.

Results: Overall, 64 patients were included in the sub-analysis. At baseline, most wounds (n=33/40; 82.5%) were in treatment failure (i.e., were stagnant, non-healing or had poor exudate management). At the last follow-up visit, a median of 22.5 (range: 3-151) days post baseline, 48.4% of wounds had healed and 25.0% were progressing towards healing. From baseline to the last follow-up visit, significant reductions in exudate level (p<0.0001) and exudate pooling (p<0.0001), and significant improvements in wound edges (p≤0.0001) and periwound skin (p<0.01) were observed. A total of 62.3% of patients had re-epithelialising wounds at the last follow-up visit. The majority of nurses (88.3%) and patients (85.0%) reported that the wound had improved and, at most dressing removals (93.5%), nurses reported that the dressing conformed closely to the wound bed.

Conclusion: Overall, the data suggest that use of the silicone foam dressing in community practice supported the healing of wounds, illustrating the importance of exudate and gap management.

Keywords: acute wound; chronic wound; exudate managements; gelling fibre dressing; hard-to-heal; observational study; wound; wound care; wound dressing; wound healing.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Bandages
  • Exudates and Transudates
  • Female
  • France
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • Silicones*
  • Wound Healing*
  • Wounds and Injuries / therapy

Substances

  • Silicones