Can Photons Pass through Primary Coatings Used to Treat Cutaneous Wounds?
Stefania Barbosa da Silva1, Renata Salani, Rita de Cássia Ferreira
1At the Nove de Julho University, São Paulo, Brazil, Stefania Barbosa da Silva, MSc, is OR Nurse; Renata Salani, MSc, is Physiotherapist; Rita de Cássia Ferreira, MSc, is Doctoral Student; Yhago Gazote Eloy Geraldo, BS, is Civil Engineer; Christiane Pavani, PhD, is Professor and Researcher; Maria Fernanda Setúbal Destro Rodrigues, PhD, is Professor; Lara J. Motta, PhD, is Professor; and Daniela Fátima Teixeira Silva, PhD, is Professor and Researcher. Acknowledgments: The authors thank Aline Cristine Ferreira Gonçalves, Oscar Soares Ramos De Araujo, and Jonas Azevedo Iglesias for their help in tabulating the data. This study received funding from the São Paulo State Foundation for Research Support (#2015/05259-8). The authors have disclosed no other financial relationships related to this article. Submitted October 30, 2019; accepted in revised form January 23, 2020; published online ahead of print November 30, 2020.
Objective:
To determine the transmittance spectrum of primary dressings commonly used in the treatment of cutaneous wounds to verify if there is a real need to remove them during photobiomodulation.
Methods:
Spectroscopic analysis was performed on 17 dressings using a spectrophotometer (USB 2000+; OceanOptics, Delray Beach, Florida). A piece of each dressing was inserted into a quartz cuvette; the reflection from the slide walls was corrected for using a 0.9% saline solution to completely fill the cuvette (baseline). The transmittance of each dressing was measured between 350 and 950 nm, and a transmittance table was created based on the main wavelengths used in photobiomodulation.
Results:
Six dressings (Supriderme, Membracel, Cuticell Contact, UrgoTul, Tegaderm, and Opsite Flexigrid) have a transmittance greater than 50% in most of the spectral range and therefore may remain on wounds during irradiation.
Conclusions:
It may not always be necessary to remove a primary dressing when lasers or LED lights are used to treat wounds. It is the authors' hope that the results of this article will increase the effectiveness of both photobiomodulation and primary dressings and reduce patient discomfort as well as the cost of primary dressings via a reduction in unnecessary dressing changes.
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