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The patient was an elderly woman
who was residing in a care home.
She had diabetes and a poor
nutritional status and had smoked
in the past.
The ulcer on her lower leg had
been present for six weeks with
dressings being changed every two
days because of excessive exudate.
She had been given systemic
antibiotics before the evaluation,
but did not take any during this
two-week trial of Actilite Protect.
At presentation, the wound bed
exhibited 100% granulation tissue
and the wound itself measured
4x3cm. There were signs of critical
colonisation and the periwound
area was red. The patient rated her
wound pain as ‘6’ on a 10-point scale
where ‘10’ indicated the worst pain.
Wound progress
Actilite Protect (10x10cm) was used
in conjunction with Sorbaderm
®
No-sting Barrier Film (Aspen
Medical) with the dressing being
changed every three days. After
one week, the wound had reduced
in size to 4x2cm with an island
of epithelialisation, however
there were still signs of critical
colonisation and the patient’s pain
levels remained high.
By the end of week two, the
wound had reduced in size to
2x2cm. The critical colonisation
had resolved and the pain had
reduced to a rating of ‘2’, with the
dressing now being changed every
four days. The clinician noted that
the dressing was atraumatic to the
wound bed and almost atraumatic
to the periwound skin, although
the clinician did mention that the
adhesive remover may have helped
with this. The dressing conformed
well to the wound and there was no
pain on application, although there
was some on removal. The dressing
stayed intact as well as remaining in
place as long as expected, with no
rolling at the edges.
At the end of the two-week
evaluation the clinician concluded
that Actilite Protect had tackled the
infection effectively and helped the
wound to heal (
Figures 1–3
show the
wound’s improvement). The dressing
made a great difference to the
appearance of the wound bed, with
healing noted and exudate and pain
levels both reduced. The three-in-
one structure of the dressing (foam,
Manuka honey and a silicone wound
contact layer) was appreciated by the
clinician and it was considered cost-
effective and easy to apply. Overall,
the clinician reported that Actilite
Protect was very easy to use and easy
to remove.
The patient found the dressing
very comfortable and was very
satisfied with the treatment,
particularly the reduced pain levels.
CASE REPORT 3
This case shows how a honey-
based foam dressing tackled
the infection present in a
patient’s leg ulcer, as well as
helping the wound heal and
reducing exudate volumes.
Figure 1.
Wound at the outset of the evaluation.
Figure 2.
Wound reducing in size.
Figure 3.
Towards the end of the evaluation the
wound exhibited reduced exudate volumes.
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JCN supplement
2015,Vol 29, No 4