RNCase ReportJournal of wound, ostomy, and continence nursing : official publication of The Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society2026

Advancing Knowledge of Acute Cutaneous Graft-Versus-Host Disease Wound Care: A Case Study.

Sara Errichiello, Chiara Visintini, Chiara Rosignoli and 4 others

PMID 41540584

WHAT IT FOUND

Wounds from severe acute graft-versus-host disease had mostly resolved by the 104th day after stem cell transplant, following atraumatic skin care, soft silicone dressings, pressure relief, and pain control given with multiple systemic therapies.

Key findings

01Nurses gave gentle hygiene care with warm water and a moisturizing cleanser once a day, repositioned him every 2 hours, and encouraged natural fibre clothing.

02From the 75th day, bleeding wounds were cleansed with preheated lactated Ringer's solution, and a soft silicone dressing was applied once daily; adhesive dressings were avoided.

03By the 104th day, all wounds had resolved except for 3 small back wounds measuring 2.0 × 2.0 cm.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs

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What it does not show

This is a single-patient case report, so it cannot show that the wound dressing caused healing. The patient received multiple systemic therapies at the same time, including methylprednisolone, topical almond oil, topical hydrocortisone, tacrolimus, extracorporeal photopheresis, etanercept, and ruxolitinib, so the contribution of any one component cannot be separated. He also developed thrombotic microangiopathy, which the authors say could have influenced the GvHD course. There was no comparison group, no control, and no formal outcome measure.

Declared interests

The authors declared no competing financial interests or personal relationships, and no specific grant funding.

The easy way to misread this

Do not conclude that soft silicone dressings healed the GvHD wounds. The paper reports a single case, and the wound improvement happened while multiple systemic therapies were also being given.

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