The efficacy of moisture retentive ointment in the mangement of cutaneous wounds and ulcers: A multicenter clinical trial

Local management of chronic wounds and ulcers remains one of the most costly unsolved problems in health care today. With proper clinical management, most chronic wound healing problems can be resolved and healing expected, though recurrence may be common. The recent logarithmic growth in our knowledge about wound healing and the appreciation of the importance of a moist environment in optimal wound healing has led to the introduction of new and exciting therapeutic modalities. In view of the many practical disadvantages as well as the serious complications of currently available moisture retentive dressings when applied to chronic contaminated wounds, a prospective multicenter clinical trial was conducted from December 1999 to November 2000 to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a newly introduced moisture retentive ointment (MEBO: Moist Exposed Burn Ointment) (Julphar – Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries, UAE) in the local wound care of problematic non-healing wounds. The active component of the ointment is ß-sitosterol in a base of beeswax, sesame oil and other components. Though it was not a comparative study, the ointment was found to induce rapid reduction in ulcer size even after a prolonged stagnant state with other therapeutic modalities without complications such as skin maceration, unmanageable excessive exudation, and wound infection. As expected with such chronic wounds, the healing potential of local ointment application is limited by the mere size of the original defect and the underlying pathologies and associated diseases. However, the safety and practicality of simple ointment application was found to be a valid alternative treatment for local management of chronic wounds.