title: Treatment of full-thickness pressure ulcers with a gentamicin sponge: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Five pressure ulcers (stage III and stage IV) were successfully treated with collagen sponges filled with gentamicin.
  
  
  METHODS
  All ulcers occurred in an immobile 94-year-old woman with advanced dementia. One of the pressure ulcers, located on the patient's sacrum, was considered life-threatening due to size and depth. All ulcers were treated with a collagen sponge filled with gentamicin; the sponge was replaced at variable intervals, ranging from 6 days to 2 months, depending on absorption of the collagen. All 5 pressure ulcers improved based on reductions in wound depth and surface area. Two of the pressure ulcers healed completely; in these wounds, gentamicin sponge therapy was initiated shortly after development of the ulcer. None of the wounds exhibited evidence of reinfection following initiation of therapy. No adverse events were observed. The rate at which the collagen sponge was absorbed slowed significantly after the initial treatment phase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this patient, the use of a collagen sponge filled with gentamicin was effective in preventing infection and promoting healing of multiple full-thickness pressure ulcers. Long-term use was not associated with any adverse effects, even in this frail and immobile patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwik Rydygier Medical College in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torún, Poland. joanna.stafiej@wp.pl
authors.forename: Joanna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Stafiej
authors.forename: Maria T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Szewczyk
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016330:Frail Elderly; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015503:Surgical Sponges; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005839:Gentamicins