Have hydrocolloids been rendered obsolete by newer dressing types?
Over recent years, many new dressings have appeared on the market, but few new dressing types. The continuing success of hydrocolloids depends largely on their effectiveness as occlusive dressings. Any new dressing has to match or better their performance and/or compete on price. Currently, manufacturers of polyurethane foam dressings are promoting them as an alternative to hydrocolloids. Few studies compare hydrocolloids with newer dressing types. In one randomised controlled clinical study involving 100 patients with leg ulcers and 99 patients with pressure sores in the community, a ‘hydropolymer’ dressing and a hydrocolloid dressing were compared. Statistically significant differences in favour of the hydropolymer dressing were detected for dressing leakage and odour production, but no statistically significant differences were recorded in the number of patients with either leg ulcers or pressure sores who healed in each treatment group. The future may see hydrocolloids used more se
