Wound glue: a comparative study of tissue adhesives

The purpose of this study was to determine which single-use wound adhesive is the most appropriate in terms of ease of use, minimal pain on application, adequate bonding time and wound closure. The three wound adhesives audited were Indermil (n-butyl cynoacrylate), Liquiband (n-butyl cynoacrylate) and Dermabond (octylcyanoacrylate).

The study was conducted in an urban paediatric emergency department treating over 39,000 patients annually. The sample was taken from the client population presenting with lacerations requiring tissue adhesive closure, within the limitations of the study (n = 63).

A non-blinded comparative study was performed. Children presenting with an appropriate laceration were assigned to receive either Indermil, Dermabond or Liquiband. The wounds were closed following the guidelines stated by the individual manufacturers. The nurses administering the tissue adhesive were asked to complete the audit form post closure and to comment on the procedure in descriptive terms.

Scalp wounds accounted for 79% (n = 50) of all the lacerations closed in the study. None of the glues were reported to be completely pain-free. However, the Liquiband tissue adhesive produced an average pain score of only 0.1, whereas the Dermabond tissue adhesive scored the highest at 0.97. The nurses using the tissue adhesives reported that Liquiband was the best tissue adhesive in terms of wound closure and ease of use. However, the only tissue adhesive to report a 100% success rate was Indermil.

All of the tissue adhesives examined produced satisfactory results in terms of wound closure and ease of use. However, the Liquiband tissue adhesive produced the most consistent results, scoring higher in most of the categories when compared with the other tissue adhesives.