TREATMENT OUTCOMES OF A COD LIVER OIL AND LANOLIN-BASED OINTMENT FOR
MANAGING STAGE 1 AND 2 PRESSURE ULCERS IN OLDER PEOPLE
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to describe the evolution of pressure ulcers
(PU) in older patients treated with an ointment containing cod liver oil
and lanolin. Materials and Methods: A one-year prospective observational
study was conducted on patients with stage 1 and 2 PUs who were admitted
to an adult hospital. The ointment was applied once daily on the heels
or twice on the sacral areas. Data on age, sex, PU location, stage, and
risk assessment using the Braden scale were collected. The PUSH and
RESVECH scales were used to assess the PU evolution. Results: Twenty-six
patients with 35 PUs were included in this study. The treatment led to a
daily reduction of PUSH=0.89 and RESVECH=0.62 for sacral areas, and
PUSH=0.97 and RESVECH=0.77 for heel areas. While patients with diabetes
exhibited a slower rate of reduction in both PUSH and RESVECH scores
than non-diabetic patients, they still demonstrated a favorable
evolution with the treatment. In addition, the use of air mattresses
improved healing. Complete healing was achieved in 4 sacral cases, with
an average treatment duration of 6.00 ± 5.66 days for stage 1 and 7.5 ±
0.71 days for stage 2. Similarly, 12 heel PUs healed with an average
treatment duration of 7.63 ± 3.42 days for stage 1 and 13.25 ± 1.26 days
for stage 2. Conclusion: Our results suggest that cod liver oil and
lanolin-based ointment may be effective for treating stage 1 and 2 PUs
in older patients, with potential benefits, including faster healing
rates, particularly in conjunction with air mattress use.