IN PATIENTS WHERE INFECTION IS A CONCERN FOR WOUND HEALING IS TAP Research Proposal

IN PATIENTS WHERE INFECTION IS A CONCERN FOR WOUND HEALING IS TAP WATER AS EFFECTIVE AS STERILE SALINE IN WOUND CLEANSING - Research Proposal Example There is no evidence that using tap water to cleanse acute wounds in adults increases infection and some evidence that it reduces it. However there is no strong evidence that cleansing wounds per se increases healing or reduces infection. In the absence of potable tap water, boiled and cooled water as well as distilled water can be used as wound cleansing agents. PICO QUESTION: In postsurgical patients who are for hospital discharge with wounds that require regular cleansing and irrigation, does wound cleansing using tap water have significant effects compared with using 0.9% normal saline solution in terms of wound healing or infection? Selection of potential articles, assessment of methodological quality and data abstraction was conducted independently by two reviewers. Trials with similar patients, comparisons, and outcomes were pooled. The data were analysed using Cochrane Review Manager 4.2. Where pooling was inappropriate, trials are discussed in a narrative review. Fourteen randomised controlled trials were included that compared various solutions for wound cleansing. The evidence indicates that there is no difference in the infection and healing rates in acute and chronic wounds cleansed with either tap water or normal saline. The evidence supports the use of potable tap water for cleansing lacerations in both adults and children and postoperative wounds in adults only. Potable tap water as well as boiled and cooled water is also an effective wound cleansing solution. This finding, however, is based on a trial that had a small sample size. PICO QUESTION: In postsurgical patients who are for hospital discharge with wounds that require regular cleansing and irrigation, does wound cleansing using tap water have significant effects compared with using 0.9% normal saline solution in terms of wound healing or