Insight into the development of non-adherent, absorbent dressings.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to develop a variety of wound dressing materials, made from standard natural fibres, that have high absorption and non-adherent characteristics.


METHODS
A total of 21 dressings were made using knitted and crochet technologies and their absorbency was tested. Five non-adherent recipes were selected from a range of chemical formulations and the optimised non-adherent finishes were applied to the four best dressings. Their absorbency and non-adherent properties were evaluated.


RESULTS
The study demonstrated that rib cotton (RC), rib viscose (RV), crochet cotton medium (CCM) and crochet viscose medium (CVM) dressings possess high absorption and that five finishing recipes, C + D, A + G, I, I + N and I + G, impart high absorption as well as non-adherent properties. The finish I + G is superior in imparting non-adherence to RV dressing, both in dry and moist conditions. This means that irrigation with water, saline or sodium citrate solution before removing the dressing from a wound is not needed.


CONCLUSIONS
A number of novel knitted and crochet structures with enhanced absorbency have been designed for wound management using standard bleached fibres. Novel non-adherent finishes for the developed structures have been formulated for the developed dressings, and offer an alternative to existing non-adherent dressings.
Rajendran
S
S
Faculty of Technology, Bolton Institute, Bolton, UK. s.rajendran@bolton.ac.uk
Anand
S C
SC
D000042:Absorption; D001458:Bandages / Q000592:standards*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*