Evaluation of two calcium alginate dressings in the management of venous ulcers.

Calcium alginate dressings facilitate the management of highly exudating wounds such as venous ulcers. To evaluate and compare the performance of two calcium alginate dressings in the management of venous ulcers, a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical study was conducted among 19 outpatients at two wound clinics in California. Ten patients (53%) were treated with Alginate A and nine patients (47%) with Alginate B. Dressings were changed weekly and patients were followed for a maximum of 6 weeks or until the venous ulcer no longer required the use of an alginate dressing. At each dressing change, the wound was assessed and dressing performance evaluated. Absorbency of exudate, patient comfort during wear, ease of removal, adherence to wound bed, dressing residue following initial irrigation, patient comfort during removal, ease of application, and conformability were assessed. Patients using Alginate A experienced significantly less foul odor (P = 0.02) and less denuded skin (P = 0.04) than Alginate B at follow-up wound assessments. With the exception of conformability, Alginate A was rated significantly better than Alginate B (P less than or equal to 0.05) in all dressing performance assessments. No significant healing differences were observed. As the different performance characteristics of various calcium alginate dressings become more obvious in clinical practice, further study is warranted to determine their optimal effectiveness.