Effect of Brazilian green propolis in chronic ulcer treatment: a randomized clinical trial.
Pascalle de Sousa Rocha, Luis Rafael Leite Sampaio, Gyllyandeson de Araújo Delmondes and 5 others
PMID 39258606WHAT IT FOUND
Green propolis ointment did not heal chronic ulcers significantly faster than standard care.
It did, however, improve specific wound bed characteristics like tissue type and pain reduction. Use it as an adjunct for wound bed preparation, not as a primary cure.
Key findings
01The primary outcome of percentage of wound contraction showed no statistically significant difference between the propolis group and the control group.
02Secondary analysis showed the propolis group had significant improvements in wound bed tissue type, edge characteristics, microbial content, and pain compared to baseline.
03The study was small (40 participants), single-blind, and conducted at a single nursing clinic over 30 days.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (40 patients), which limits the power to detect differences in the primary outcome. The study was single-blind; while allocation was concealed, the nature of topical treatments makes blinding the patient and clinician difficult, potentially introducing bias in subjective outcomes like pain. The study was conducted at a single center (a nursing school clinic), which may limit generalizability to other healthcare settings. The follow-up period was only 30 days, which may be too short to observe significant healing in chronic ulcers. The control group received an active treatment (EFA), not a placebo, so the results reflect a comparison between two active interventions.
Declared interests
The Brazilian green propolis ointment used in the study was produced and provided by the company Baldoni Produtos Naturais. The paper does not explicitly state whether the company had a role in study design, data analysis, or manuscript preparation, but provision of the intervention product represents a potential conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the significant improvements in secondary wound characteristics as evidence that propolis heals ulcers faster than standard care. The primary outcome of wound contraction was not significantly different between the groups, and the study was underpowered.