Honey dressing versus paraffin tulle gras following toenail surgery

Anecdotal reports suggest that certain honey dressings have a positive effect on wound healing. However, there is limited empirical evidence supporting its use. This double-blind randomised controlled trial investigated the effect of a honey dressing on wound healing following toenail surgery with m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of wound care Vol. 15; no. 3; p. 133
Main Authors McIntosh, C D, Thomson, C E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.03.2006
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Bandages
Double-Blind Method
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Honey
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Nail Diseases - diagnosis
Nail Diseases - surgery
Nails - surgery
Nails, Ingrown - diagnosis
Nails, Ingrown - surgery
Petrolatum - pharmacology
Postoperative Care - methods
Time Factors
Wound Healing - drug effects
Wound Healing - physiology
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Summary:Anecdotal reports suggest that certain honey dressings have a positive effect on wound healing. However, there is limited empirical evidence supporting its use. This double-blind randomised controlled trial investigated the effect of a honey dressing on wound healing following toenail surgery with matrix phenolisation. Participants (n=100) were randomly assigned to receive either an active manuka honey dressing (n=52) or paraffin-impregnated tulle gras (n=48). The primary outcome was time (days) taken for complete re-epithelialisation of the nail bed. Mean healing times were 40.30 days (SD 18.21) for the honey group and 39.98 days (SD 25.42) for the paraffin tulle gras group. Partial avulsion wounds healed statistically significantly faster (p=0.01) with paraffin tulle gras (19.62 days, SD 9.31) than with the honey dressing (31.76 days, SD 18.8), but no significant difference (p=0.21) was found following total avulsion when comparing honey (45.28 days, SD 18.03.) with paraffin tulle gras dressings (52.03 days, SD 21.3). The results suggest that patients may benefit more from paraffin tulle gras dressings than honey dressings following partial toenail avulsion. No statistically significant difference was found for healing times after total toenail avulsion, although the marginal benefit of the honey dressing on these healing times warrants further investigation.
ISSN:0969-0700
DOI:10.12968/jowc.2006.15.3.26877