Wound Bed Preparation with Hypochlorous Acid Oxidising Solution and Standard of Care: a Prospective Case Series

OBJECTIVE:This prospective case series aims to evaluate the clinical impact of a hypochlorous acid oxidising solution (AOS) in association with usual standard of care (SoC) on wound bed preparation (WBP) in patients with hard-to-heal ulcers of various aetiologies. The AOS (Nexodyn, APR Applied Pharma Research S.A., Switzerland) comprises three main features: highly pure and stabilised hypochlorous acid, acidic pH and high reduction-oxidation potential.METHOD:Between February 2015 and February 2017, patients who met the inclusion criteria were treated with AOS and usual SoC. Data collection ran for 70 days: T0-T70. A baseline assessment was undertaken at T0; parameters assessed at fortnightly visits included: WBP score, area and depth of ulcer, duration, pain, Bates-Jensen score and infection status.RESULTS:A total of 60 patients took part in the study. By T70, 68.3% of wounds had healed or improved and a significant wound size reduction of 21% was observed (p<0.001), despite a mean wound duration of 20.6 months. All wounds were free of local infection and cellulitis; 10% were colonised. WBP scores improved, while Bates-Jensen and pain scores fell significantly over time.CONCLUSION:This evaluation suggests that AOS might represent a valuable therapeutic addition for an optimal WBP in the routine management of hard-to-heal ulcers of different aetiologies.DECLARATION OF INTEREST:ER worked as a consultant for APR Applied Pharma Research S.A. The authors have no other conflicts of interest.