Does the type of dressing applied to venous leg ulcers make a difference to healing?
Although many different dressings are used for venous ulcers, compression with bandages or stockings is an important part of treatment. The studies included in this Cochrane review tested the dressings underneath the compression bandages. There have been scores of studies of leg ulcers, but only 42 were included in the review. These enrolled from 13 to 200 patients and had durations ranging from four to 52 weeks. The majority of the studies investigated hydrocolloid dressings. Nine trials involving 928 patients compared hydrocolloids with low-adherence dressings. There was no difference in ulcer healing. In four studies, hydrocolloid dressings were compared with foam dressings in 311 patients. Again there was no difference in outcome. Healing rates were also similar in the two trials that compared hydrocolloids with alginate dressings. Only 98 patients were involved in the three trials that compared different types of hydrocolloid dressings. No brand had a significant advantage over it
