Management of incontinence-associated dermatitis with topical antibiotics and antifungal medication

The primary goals of managing incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) are to control the incontinence and to stop the progress of dermatitis. This study evaluated the effectiveness of using a combination of topical antibiotic and topical antifungal medication to manage IAD.

Patients with grade 2 IAD treated with a combination of topical antibiotic Biomycin (CBC Biotechnological and Pharmaceutical, Taiwan) and antifungal clotrimazole (Sinphar Group, Taiwan) between January 2017 and January 2019 were included in this retrospective study. Data collected included patients' age, sex, diagnosis, body mass index, comorbidities and surface area involved. Patients were reviewed fortnightly until the wounds had healed, the patient was discharged or had died.

A total of 76 patients were included. There were 39 men and 37 women with a mean age of 74 years. In 58 (76%) patients, the surface area involved was >50cm², in 13 (17%) patients the involved area was 20-50cm² and in five (7%) patients the area involved was <20cm². The mean number of days treated was 10.3 (range: 1-53). A total of 46 (61%) patients showed total healing of their IAD, 17 (22%) patients showed improvement of >50% of the involved area, seven (9%) patients showed improvement of 0-50%, five (7%) patients showed no improvement and one (1%) patient showed an increase in the area involved.

This combination of treatment was effective in the management of IAD. It was cheap, easy to apply, easy to remove and easily accessible. It could be used efficiently by the hospital staff and the patient's family.