Efficacy of different types of dressings on pressure injuries: Systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Chunjin Zhang, Shu Zhang, Bo Wu and 2 others
PMID 37386783WHAT IT FOUND
Moist dressings like foam, hydrocolloid, and silver ion heal pressure injuries more often and faster than sterile gauze.
Biological wound dressings require the fewest changes. Choose based on wound needs, as rankings varied and evidence quality was mixed.
Key findings
01Foam, hydrocolloid, silver ion, biological, and polymeric membrane dressings had higher cure rates than sterile gauze.
02Foam, silver ion, and hydrocolloid dressings were associated with shorter healing times compared to sterile gauze.
03Biological wound dressings required the fewest dressing changes, followed by silver ion and foam dressings.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Most included trials did not report the stage of the pressure injury, making it unclear if results apply to all severity levels. Dressings from different manufacturers were included, so components may have varied slightly between studies. The ranking of interventions was uncertain due to limited direct comparisons and lack of closed loops in the network for some outcomes. Treatment cycles were inconsistent across the included studies.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The study received no external funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume polymeric membrane dressings are the best choice for all patients. While they had the highest cure rate ranking, the evidence network for some comparisons was incomplete, and the study authors noted considerable uncertainty in the rankings due to missing data on pressure ulcer stages and manufacturer variability.