Normal saline wound dressing—is it really normal?

Gauze swabs soaked in normal saline are frequently used as dressing on open wounds. Their exact mechanism of action is not known. This study was designed to assess the hypothesis that normal saline dressings act in part as an osmotic dressing. Ten patients had skin ulcers ( n=10) dressed with normal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of plastic surgery 2000, Vol.53 (1), p.42-45
Main Authors: Lim, J.K., Saliba, L., Smith, M.J., Curtin, P., McTavish, J., Raine, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Chlorides - analysis
dressings
Humans
Injuries of the skin. Diseases of the skin due to physical agents
Medical sciences
normal saline
Occlusive Dressings
Osmolar Concentration
Prospective Studies
Skin plastic surgery
Skin Ulcer - therapy
Sodium - analysis
Sodium Chloride - chemistry
Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases
Surgical Sponges
Time Factors
tonicity
Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents
wound care
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Summary:Gauze swabs soaked in normal saline are frequently used as dressing on open wounds. Their exact mechanism of action is not known. This study was designed to assess the hypothesis that normal saline dressings act in part as an osmotic dressing. Ten patients had skin ulcers ( n=10) dressed with normal saline soaked sponges. Acting as controls ( n=10) identical sponges were placed upon intact skin. The sponge fluid osmolarity and electrolyte concentrations were serially assayed to test our hypothesis. In the control group, the osmolarity, sodium and chloride concentrations increased with time as a result of eveporation, altering it from an isotonic to a hypertonic dressing. However, in the ulcer group, the osmolarity, sodium and chloride concentrations in the sponge fluid remained relatively isotonic with time. This result is statistically significant ( P
ISSN:0007-1226
1465-3087
DOI:10.1054/bjps.1999.3246