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. 2019 Aug;16(4):909-915.
doi: 10.1111/iwj.13118. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

The use of povidone-iodine and sugar solution in surgical wound dehiscence in the head and neck following radio-chemotherapy

Arianna Di Stadio  1 , Valeria Gambacorta  1 , Maria Cristina Cristi  2 , Massimo Ralli  3 , Simona Pindozzi  4 , Luigi Tassi  4 , Antonio Greco  3 , Giuseppe Lomurno  5 , Ricci Giampietro  1   2
Affiliations

The use of povidone-iodine and sugar solution in surgical wound dehiscence in the head and neck following radio-chemotherapy

Arianna Di Stadio et al. Int Wound J. 2019 Aug.

Abstract

Povidone-iodine is known for successfully treating surgical wounds; the combination between povidone-iodine and sugar, also called Knutson's formula, has been proposed to improve wound healing. Currently, no studies have investigated the effects of Knutson's formula to treat defects in wound closure following radio-chemotherapy in the head and neck region. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Knutson's formula in improving the wound-healing process in patients who underwent radio-chemotherapy after surgery for head and neck cancer. The study, conducted from August 2013 to January 2017, included a sample of 34 patients (25 males and 9 females; age range: 60-75 years) treated with radio-chemotherapy after head and neck cancer surgery. All patients suffered from defect of wound regeneration. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: patients in the study group (n = 18) were treated with Knutson's formula; patients in the control group (n = 16) were treated with traditional topical drugs. In the study group, 16 of 18 (88.9%) patients reached complete wound closure 1 month after treatment, with no wound infections. In the control group, only three patients (18.7%) showed complete wound closure within a month; in addition, one patient required systemic antibiotic treatment because of supra-bacterial infection of the wound. In our sample, the combination of povidone-iodine and sugar had a higher success rate compared with traditional topical treatment in the treatment of wound defect closure in oncological patients who underwent radio-chemotherapy.

Keywords: Knutson's formula; chemotherapy; radiotherapy; wound dehiscence; wound healing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Aspect of the surgical wound at T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 in a patient treated with povidone‐iodine and sugar solution
Figure 2
Figure 2
A summary of the improvement in wound dehiscence healing at the different time points between patients in study and control groups. Asterisks indicate statistical significance
Figure 3
Figure 3
This illustration summarises the effects of povidone‐iodine and sugar on the wound‐healing process
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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