Wound management using a superabsorbent foam dressing: outcomes of a post-CE-mark primary care clinical evaluation

In a previous article, Glover (2014) presented feedback from a series of meetings convened to discuss the challenges of assessing and describing wound exudate, and the ability of both foam and absorbent dressings to manage exudate. Participants were asked to outline what they believed to be the characteristics of both genres of dressing based on their clinical experience (Glover, 2014). After this discussion, the participants were given a CE-marked bordered foam absorbent dressing, KerraFoam® Gentle Border (KFGB) to examine. At the time the meetings were held, this dressing was available on the market but the manufacturers, Crawford Healthcare Ltd (UK), wanted to improve its properties; they planned to use the identified positive characteristics of foam and superabsorbent dressings, the identified exudate management challenges, and participants’ previous experiences of the dressing as a basis for improvement. The reformulated dressing is listed in the Drug Tariff as a foam dressing but is unusual in that it combines both foam and superabsorbent layers. Thus, it absorbs and retains (locks in) exudate (Stephenson et al, 2014), maintains a moist wound environment, and helps reduce risk of skin maceration. In addition, other reported benefits include (Crawford Healthcare, 2014): Lateral wicking technology which increases capacity and wear-time A soft silicone adhesive contact layer which prevents painful dressing changes and skin stripping Conformability to skin surface Comfortable to wear Following this reformulation and the reintroduction of KFGB to the market (with CE mark), a post-marketing surveillance study was undertaken in the form of a service evaluation. Such studies are not comparative, rather they focus on the reported benefits of the dressing to determine if these are met. Thus, while the previous dressings the participants used are recorded, no formal comparison is undertaken.