Are hydrocolloid dressings contraindicated in diabetes?
An open randomized controlled study was carried out in 44 patients with diabetes who had necrotic foot ulcers treated with adhesive zinc oxide tape or with an adhesive occlusive hydrocolloid dressing. Fourteen of the 21 patients treated with adhesive zinc oxide tape had their necrotic ulcers improved by at least 50%, compared to six out of 21 with the hydrocolloid dressing (statistically significant). Fifteen patients showed an increase in the area of necrosis during the course of the 5-week study and of these, 10 had been treated with the hydrocolloid dressing. [1] However, these wounds were necrotic; other clinicians firmly recommend hydrocolloids, particularly for the protection of the wound after the removal of necrotic tissue. [2] Foot ulcers in people with diabetes, often homogenised by the term diabetic ulcer, usually have both vascular and neuropathic aetiology; it would be unwise to assume that two apparently similar ulcers should be managed the same way. This issue has been c
