Assessment of a wound cleansing solution in the treatment of problem wounds.

 Chronic wounds will heal in most cases if provided an optimal local wound environment and therapy that addresses underlying disease. The quality of topical wound management will influence the speed of the wound healing process. The value of cleansing chronic wounds is considered a basic principle in modern wound management. Several methods are available for wound cleansing and debridement. Currently, there has been focus on measures of wound cleansing whereby debris and exudate are gently and continuously removed to prepare the wound bed for wound closure. For this purpose, physiological solutions or specific disinfectants may be used. This retrospective analysis of existing data was performed looking at the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of using a wound antiseptic to treat problem wounds. Wound cleansing upon dressing changes using a polyhexanide containing solution (Prontosan®, B Braun, Melsungen AG, Germany) in venous leg ulcers was compared to cleansing with either Ringer's solution or saline. The wounds of the patients treated with polyhexanide solution healed faster and in more cases (97% versus 89%). The Kaplan-Meier mean estimate (and associated standard error [SE]) demonstrated a statistically significant difference between treatment groups (P < 0.0001) in time to healing. The Kaplan-Meier mean time to healing for the study group (SG) was 3.31 months (SE = 0.17) compared to 4.42 months (SE = 0.19) for the control group ([CG], saline/Ringer's solution). .