WATER-VAPOR TRANSMISSION RATES IN BURNS AND CHRONIC LEG ULCERS - INFLUENCE OF WOUND DRESSINGS AND COMPARISON WITH IN-VITRO EVALUATION

One of the main functions of wound dressings is to control water vapou r transmission rate (WVTR) from wounded skin. In this paper, the influ ence of hydrocolloid, knitted viscose and gauze dressings was evaluate d through in vivo measurement of WVTR in burns and chronic leg ulcers utilizing an evaporimeter. The results suggest that the evaporative wa ter vapour loss from exposed skin wounds depends mainly on the wound d epth, and that chronic leg ulcers have the same level of the WVTR as f ull thickness burns. Compared with the knitted viscose and gauze dress ings, hydrocolloid dressing has a greater effect on reducing evaporati ve water loss, with WVTR being 20-30% of that of exposed wounds under the conditions used in this study. This result is in agreement with th at obtained in an in vitro evaluation. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limit ed