Hydro-Responsive Wound Dressings for the treatment of chronic wounds: A narrative review of the clinical evidence

A break in the integrity of the skin must be repaired as quickly as possible to avoid excess blood and fluid loss and to minimise the onset of infection. Chronic wounds, where the progression of the wound healing response is compromised, presents several challenges to healing (e.g., the presence of devitalised tissue acting as a physical barrier to healing and being a focus for bacterial contamination and the potential for subsequent infection). The objective of this article is to present, as a narrative review, the clinical evidence supporting the use of a unique hydro-responsive wound dressing (HydroClean®, HRWD1) which provides a simple treatment option that addresses a number of clinical challenges clinicians must overcome in order to facilitate wound healing progression. These studies demonstrated that this product supports successful debridement/cleansing of a wide variety of wounds, including chronic wounds, enables wound bed preparation, and leads to positive healing outcomes including in wounds that previously had failed to heal. The simplicity of using HRWD1 as a single dressing that can overcome a variety of challenges that present to the clinician when they are treating both acute and chronic wounds make it an ideal choice for a first line treatment, with the benefit of proven patient outcomes.

Karen Ousey
Professor and Director, Institute of Skin Integrity and Infection Prevention, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK

Heather Hodgson
Lead Nurse Tissue Viability, Tissue Viability Acute and Partnerships, Glasgow;

Mark G. Rippon
Visiting Clinical Research Fellow, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield, UK

Alan A. Rogers
Independent Wound Care Consultant, Flintshire, North Wales, UK