Topical Intervention of Natural Products Applied in Patients with Pressure Injuries: A Scoping Review

Pressure injuries (PIs) represent a major medical and nursing problem in individuals with decreased or limited mobility. This scoping review aimed to map the controlled clinical trials with topical interventions of natural products applied to patients with PIs and to verify the existence of phytochemical similarities among these products.

This scoping review was developed according to the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Controlled trials were searched in the following electronic databases from their inceptions until February 1, 2022: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, PubMed, SciELO, Science Direct, and Google Scholar.

Studies involving individuals with PIs, individuals treated with topical natural products compared to a control treatment, and outcomes with wound healing or wound reduction were included in this review.

The search identified 1,268 records. Only six studies were included in this scoping review. Data were independently extracted using a template instrument from the JBI.

The authors summarized the characteristics of the six included articles, synthesized outcomes, and compared similar articles. Honey and Plantago major dressings were the topical interventions that significantly reduced wound size. The literature suggests that the effect on wound healing of these natural products may be related to the presence of phenolic compounds.

The studies included in this review show that natural products can positively impact the healing of PIs. However, there are limited controlled clinical trials addressing natural products and PIs in the literature.