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Tap water or normal saline for cleansing traumatic wounds?
1King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust, London, UK. suewhaley@kcl.ac.uk
British Journal of Community Nursing
|December 8, 2004
Summary
Tap water wound cleansing is as safe as sterile saline for acute soft tissue injuries. Evidence suggests no significant increase in infection risk, but study quality is limited.
Area of Science:
- Wound Care and Management
- Infectious Diseases
- Trauma Surgery
Background:
- Acute traumatic soft tissue wounds are common injuries.
- Cleansing solutions for wounds vary, with tap water and sterile normal saline being common options.
- Concerns exist regarding the potential for infection and delayed healing with different cleansing agents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review evidence comparing tap water versus other cleansing solutions for acute uncomplicated traumatic soft tissue wounds.
- To assess the impact of tap water irrigation on wound infection rates and healing times in adults and children.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search across major databases (Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, Cinahl, BNI, PubMed), bibliographies, and internet resources.
- Inclusion of controlled trials and relevant studies reporting outcomes.
- Analysis of data from three controlled trials involving 1281 participants.
Main Results:
- No clinically significant increase in wound infection risk was observed when comparing tap water irrigation to sterile normal saline for uncomplicated soft tissue injuries.
- The available evidence is limited by the low statistical power and methodological quality of the included studies.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence suggests tap water is a safe alternative to sterile normal saline for cleansing acute uncomplicated traumatic soft tissue wounds.
- Further high-quality, large-scale studies are necessary to strengthen the evidence base regarding tap water wound irrigation.