The impact of calendula ointment on cesarean wound healing: A randomized controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Cesarean is one of the most common surgical interventions. Wound complications are one of the most common morbidities following cesarean section. Calendula promotes wound healing and might be effective in shortening the duration of wound healing. Limited researches have been done regarding the healing of this plant as the effect of this ointment on cesarean wound healing has not been studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of calendula on cesarean wound healing in primiparous females. METHODS: This clinical trial involves 72 qualified primiparous females with surgical childbirth admitted in the Akbar-Abadi Educational Hospital. They were randomly categorized into two groups of experimental (n = 1) and control (n = 2) groups. The females in experimental group used calendula ointment every 12 h and the control group used hospital routine for 10 days. Wound healing was assessed on the 3(rd), 6(th), 9(th) days postcesarean using the REEDA scale (REEDA stands for redness, edema, ecchymosis, discharge, and approximation), which had criteria including redness, edema, ecchymosis, discharge, and approximation. The data were collected by demographic questionnaire and redness, edema were used Chi-square test and independent T-test for data analysis. RESULTS: Seventy-two females were included in the study. Thirty-six cases in the drug group and 36 cases in control group were studied. The age of patients in the two groups did not differ significantly (27/17 ± 4/72, 28/97 ± 4/99 years, respectively; P = 0/276). Moreover, there was no significant difference between studied groups regarding the education level of patients and their husbands, the mother's job and the economic situation. CONCLUSION: According to the results, using calendula ointment considerably increases the speed of cesarean wound healing so it can be used for quickening the cesarean healing.