Effect of Occlusion and Semi-occlusion on Experimental Skin Wound Healing: A Reevaluation

The benefits of occlusive and/or semi-occlusive dressings to accelerate epidermal wound healing have been documented in experiments on human and animal models, as well as in clinical settings. Their benefits have been generally accepted. However, reports either from experimental or clinical observations suggest that occlusive dressings may occasionally delay wound healing.

Data presented here were reevaluated from experimental models conducted on controlled wounds.

Although most human studies document that occlusive dressings facilitate epidermal wound healing, sufficient observations suggest that some experiment factors (latex rather than plastic and species) were not investigated in the earlier occlusive dressing observations, mandating the need for clarification. The differences between the earlier and more recent, significantly different, observations may relate to species (largely mouse rather than human), occlusive materials (latex rather than plastic), and type of wound (split-thickness versus stripping).