What are the effects of a hydrocolloid dressing on bacterial growth?
Thirty patients with lower limb ulcers of different aetiologies were treated with an occlusive hydrocolloid dressing twice a week for a maximum period of 12 weeks. No antibacterial chemotherapy was utilized. A culture was taken of the exudate of the ulcer before commencement of treatment and weekly or bi-weekly thereafter. The results showed a mixed flora with prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus. The average duration of the treatment period was 67 days. The average interval between dressing changes was 4.1 days. Subsequent bacterial cultures showed a persistence of the original flora, but there was no correlation between the type of flora present and clinical evidence of infection or between the type of flora present and the rate of healing of the ulcer [1]. In another study, the bacterial flora of chronic venous ulcers treated with an occlusive hydrocolloid dressing were studied over eight weeks. The flora was generally stable. Once a species was present, it remained with the exceptio
