Examining the effect of polyurethane dressing containing silver particles on the rate of diabetic foot ulcer infection in hospitalized patients: A randomized control study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: One of the new types of dressings is the polyurethane dressing containing silver particles. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of polyurethane dressing containing silver particles on the rate of diabetic foot ulcer infection in hospitalized patients in a military hospital. METHODS: This was a randomized clinical trial study on 48 patients with diabetic foot ulcers who were referred to the wound clinic of Shahid Dr. Chamran Hospital in 2022. The qualified samples were divided into two groups of silver polyurethane dressing and simple sterile dressing based on a randomization block method. The wounds of both groups of patients were initially cleaned with normal saline and in the first round of dressing, and a sample of tissue secretions was collected by the researcher using a sterile swab from the wounds of the patients on two occasions, superficially and deeply. The patients' wounds in the intervention group were dressed with polyurethane foam dressing containing silver particles, while the simple sterile routine dressing was used in the control group. The rate of infection and wound secretions were examined and recorded on the first, seventh, fourteenth, and twenty‐first days from the start of dressing in both groups. To collect data, the IDSA tool was used. RESULTS: The rates of wound infection before the intervention showed no significant differences in the two groups (p = 0.242). However, these rates changed on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days after the intervention. Moreover, the infection rate was significantly lower in the polyurethane dressing group containing silver particles (p < 0.001 and F = 30.31). CONCLUSIONS: Using polyurethane dressing was proven to be more effective in this study on the rate of diabetic ulcer infection in patients compared to the simple sterile dressing. Thus, nurses can use this dressing for faster treatment of diabetic foot ulcers infection.