[Treatment of chronic wounds with an alginate dressing containing calcium zinc and manganese].

Background: Treatment of chronic wounds comprises adequate debridement, reduction in the bacterial burden, and application of a dressing to absorb excess exudate.

Methods: In a prospectively documented, multicenter observational study involving 1285 chronic wounds of varying etiologies, carried out in 314 doctor's offices in Germany, the effect of the new alginate dressing, containing calcium zinc and manganese was investigated.

Results: After twelve weeks of treatment with the dressing, 95% of all wounds had improved appreciably, and 52.5% had healed completely. The drop out rate was 4.4% and side effects were observed in 2.6% of the cases. 73.8% of the patients reported markedly improved tolerability in comparison with previous treatment. 604 patients (47.0%) considered handling of the dressing to be "much better", and 411 (32.0%) to be "better" than previous treatment. The frequency of dressing changes decreased from 5.2 to 3.2 a week.