Silver leaf nylon dressing to prevent radiation dermatitis in patients undergoing chemotherapy and external beam radiotherapy to the perineum.
OBJECTIVE
Silver-leaf nylon dressing (SLND) has been shown to have effective antimicrobial activity and to enhance healing in burns and skin grafts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of SLND in preventing radiation dermatitis in patients undergoing radiotherapy to target volumes that included the perineum and concurrent chemotherapy.


METHODS
Fifteen consecutive patients with either anal canal or gynecologic cancer were offered the SLND as a preventive intervention. The evaluation was based on standardized photographs taken at the end of treatment. A historical control group of 15 patients with the same neoplasms who received standard skin care was assessed in the same fashion. Ten observers unaware of the treatment intervention were enrolled in the evaluation of the skin changes. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess the statistical significance of the differences in the dermatitis scores between the two patient groups.


RESULTS
The mean dermatitis score for controls was 2.62 (standard deviation, 0.48). The mean score for the SLND group was significantly lower at 1.16 (standard deviation, 0.40; p <0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study suggest that SLND is effective in reducing radiation dermatitis, apparently because of its antibacterial properties.
Vuong
Té
T
Department of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. te.vuong@muhc.mcgill.ca
Franco
Eduardo
E
Lehnert
Shirley
S
Lambert
Christine
C
Portelance
Lorraine
L
Nasr
Elie
E
Faria
Sergio
S
Hay
John
J
Larsson
Stephan
S
Shenouda
George
G
Souhami
Luis
L
Wong
Frances
F
Freeman
Carolyn
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001005:Anus Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D001458:Bandages; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010502:Perineum / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011855:Radiodermatitis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012834:Silver / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D012834:Silver