Cleansing wounds with water
Citation: Fernandez R, Green HL, Griffiths R, et al. Water for wound cleansing. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2022;(9): CD003861.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN, ES, FA, FR, HO, and PT.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: South Western Sydney Area Health Service (Australia).
What is this? In this Cochrane systematic review, the authors searched for randomised controlled trials that compared wound cleansing with tap, distilled, or boiled water to no cleansing or to cleansing with other solutions (such as cooled boiled water or saline). They searched in May 2021 and included 13 trials (2504 participants) conducted in Australia (1), Hong Kong (1), India (4), Iran (1), Nigeria (1), Tanzania (1), and the US (4).
What works: Nothing noted.
What doesn’t work: Nothing noted.
What is uncertain: It was unclear whether cleansing with tap water, distilled water, cooled boiled water, saline, or no cleansing had an effect on the number of wounds that became infected. It was also unclear whether they have an effect on wound healing, costs, pain, or patient satisfaction.
Implications: The authors of this review stated that using tap water compared with no cleansing may make little or no difference to wound healing, and there are no data on wound infection. Data for the outcomes are limited across all comparisons considered and are either uncertain or suggest little or no difference in the outcome. People with wounds and health professionals caring for them should take into account factors such as patient preference and availability of treatments in choosing a method of wound cleansing.
Other considerations: The authors of the review did not discuss their findings in the context of issues relating to health equity.
This summary was prepared by Riwa Deghaim, checked by Sneha Bhadti, and finalized by William Summerskill.
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