Investigation of the effects of topical hemoglobin in pressure wound care

This study was carried out in a randomized controlled experimental research design to determine the effect of simple wet dressing and topical hemoglobin spray dressing on wound healing and cost in patients with stage 2 pressure sores in the sacrum region. The study was conducted in the Palliative Care Clinic of a State Hospital between November 2023 and June 2024 with 20 patients, 10 control (simple wet dressing) group and 10 experimental (topical hemoglobin spray) group. Pressure Ulcer Healing Scale (PUSH), Numerical Pain Scale, Image J and Cost Schedule were used in the study. In the study, the 1st observation before the application, the 8th observation at the end of the first month and the 16th observation at the end of the second month were compared. The data obtained were coded in the statistical program and evaluated with number, percentage, mean, Chi-square, Mann Whitney U test, Wilcoxon test, Friedman test, Spearman correlation and intraclass correlation analysis. In the study, it was observed that the total score and area sub-dimension significantly increased (p<0.05) in the PUSH score averages before and after the application in the control group, while no significant difference was observed in the exudate and tissue type sub-dimensions (p>0.05). When the mean PUSH scores of the wounds in the experimental group were compared in terms of total, area, exudate type and tissue type, a highly statistically significant difference was found (p<0.001). There was a highly significant consistency between manual wound ruler measurement and Image J program analysis in the 1st observation and 16th observation measurements of wound areas (p<0.001). There was a highly statistically significant difference between the experimental group (1.30±0.67) and the control group (6.20±2.14) in the pain assessment at the time of dressing (p<0.001). As a result of the cost analysis, it was determined that the total cost was 21,680.24 TL in the simple wet dressing group and 58,551.21 TL in the topical hemoglobin group.