title: Management of split-thickness skin graft donor sites: a randomized controlled trial of calcium alginate versus polyurethane film dressing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Split-thickness skin graft (STSG) donor sites sometimes cause more postoperative morbidity for patients than the wound covered with the graft. Yet, there is no consensus on which dressings are best suited to treat these donor sites.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate two commonly used modern wound dressings in the postoperative healing of STSG donor sites in a prospective randomized controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  38 patients were randomly assigned to treatment of an STSG donor site with an alginate dressing or a polyurethane film dressing. The primary outcome measures were postoperative pain scores, secondary outcome variables were time to epithelialization, dressing changes and complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Postoperative pain on day 1 was significantly lower in the polyurethane film group (2.05 vs. 0.79, p = 0.035) as compared to the alginate group. This difference was not detected on day 5 (0.89 vs. 0.53, p = 0.52). Time to epithelialization did not differ significantly between the two dressing groups. There were more dressing changes in the polyurethane film group and problems with leakage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whereas film dressings resulted in initially lower pain scores, alginate dressings caused fewer additional dressing changes and less leakage.
authors.affiliation: Dermatologische Klinik, Universitätsspital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Severin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Läuchli
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hafner
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ostheeren
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Marjam J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Barysch
authors.forename: Lars E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: French
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000464:Alginates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001458:Bandages; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D062326:Re-Epithelialization; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013997:Time Factors; D060053:Transplant Donor Site / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D011140:Polyurethanes; D020723:Glucuronic Acid