The Antimicrobial and Healing Effect of Scrophularia striata Boiss Hydroalcoholic Extract on First- and Second-Grade Pressure Wounds in Patients with Brain and Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This double-blind clinical trial study was performed on grade 1 and 2 pressure wounds in 120 patients with cerebral-spinal cord lesions. The patients were randomly divided into four groups (n = 30). Topical treatments in all groups were performed twice a day. These groups included experiment 1 (SHE + phenytoin), experiment 2 (SHE + SHE), control (phenytoin + phenytoin), and placebo (eucerin + phenytoin). After evaluating the effect of SHE on wound healing, its antibacterial activity was determined by the standard agar well diffusion method. RESULTS: Patients in each group in this study did not significantly differ in demographic and clinical variables. Complete wound healing by the 10(th) day of the intervention occurred in 63%, 100%, and 27% of patients in experimental 1, experimental 2, and control groups, respectively. In contrast, the placebo group had no complete wound healing until the 10(th) day. Topical application of SHE, twice a day in the experimental 2 groups, had a higher potency to heal wounds and reduce the duration of complete wound healing in patients compared with other groups. CONCLUSION: SHE, as a novel treatment option, has good potential to accelerate the healing of first- and second-degree pressure wounds in patients with brain-spinal cord injuries.