Novel wound dressing system optimizes drug absorption

A novel wound dressing system optimized topical drug absorption in pediatric patients after ablative fractional laser treatment, according to a presentation at the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery annual meeting.

“In dermatology, the utility of topical medications is often limited by the epidermal barrier,” Neera R. Nathan, MD, MSHS, of the department of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, said. “Ablative fractional laser-assisted drug delivery is a technique that uses microchannels that span from the epidermis into the dermis and thus provide a conduit for topical medications to distribute more readily in addition to providing a therapeutic benefit from the laser itself.”

In an observational study, a novel dressing system was created to maximize drug delivery after treatment with ablative fractional laser. Researchers applied a nonstick gauze soaked in a topical agent followed by a waterproof sterile film dressing for 48 hours.

Traumatic scars were successfully treated using this method in more than 300 children in a tertiary care population. Aside from visual clinical improvement, the dressing also stayed on and was well tolerated.

“This novel dressing system may be one way to maximize contact between a topical agent and skin microchannels following laser-assisted drug delivery,” Nathan said. “While this was trialed in children with traumatic scars, this dressing system may have broad applications to other patient populations and a number of other topical agents in a variety of skin conditions.”