A real-world study of a calcium alginate dressing for various wound etiologies on clinical performance, usability, and safety

Complex wounds require a moist wound healing environment and exudate control. Alginate dressings are highly absorbable and available as sheets for superficial wounds and ropes for deeper wounds. This study evaluates the real-world performance of a conformable CAD containing mannuronic acid for various wound types. The usability and safety of the tested CAD were evaluated in adult patients with various wound types. Further endpoints were clinician satisfaction with dressing application and suitability for wound type and their opinion of the tested CAD compared with other dressings of this type. The study included 83 patients with exuding wounds (42 male [51%]; 41 female [49%]) and a mean age of 74.54 years (SD ± 15.54 years). Thirteen clinicians (76%) (x = 1.24) rated the first CAD application as very easy, 4 (24%) as easy, and 1 (6%) as not easy. The time for dressing application was ranked as very good (x = 1.65) by 8 clinicians (47%), while 7 (41%) rated the time for application as good, and 2 (12%) gave a satisfactory rating. The CAD sheet and rope were safe to use and fit for purpose in wounds of various etiologies. In addition, the dressing was easy to handle and remove, formed a gel faster than other alginates, and outperformed other previous products.