The treatment of chronic wounds with boric acid polyurethane sponges combined with negative pressure wound treatment: a multi-center, prospective, randomized study

Objective: This study aimed to compare the outcomes of the use of polyurethane boric acid sponges and sponges containing silver nitrate over the negative pressure wound treatment. Materials and methods: The patients were separated as Group 1 (n:30) treated with boric acid group, and Group 2 (n:34) treated with silver nitrate group (Group 2). The wound healing of each patient was evaluated quantitatively on a cellular basis from a table of macroscopic and histopathological scoring. Results: No statistically significant difference was determined between the groups applied with boric acid and silver nitrate in respect of the culture results from the first visit (p:0.705). In the final evaluation of wound dimensions on day 21, a significant reduction was seen in wound width (p=0.001), wound length (p=0.003), and wound depth (p<0.001) in the boric acid group, and no significant results were obtained in the silver nitrate group. In the quantitative cellular evaluations, a statistically significant difference was determined in favor of the boric acid group in respect of inflammatory cell count, angiogenesis, granulation, and re-epithelialization (p<0.001 for all). Conclusion: Sponges with boric acid can have a positive effect on chronic wound recovery by improving cellular proliferation, cellular differentiation and cellular migration in addition to antimicrobial properties when used in combination with the negative pressure wound treatment system. Therefore, boric acid sponges seem to be a good alternative to silver nitrate sponges.