Treatment of chronic wounds with 10% papain gel: a pilot study

Any interruption in the continuity of the skin, whether to a greater or lesser extent, is considered a wound and can be classified as acute or chronic. In Brazil and several parts of the world, the chronic wound is seen as a barrier to public health because, in addition to raising the cost for the health service, the patient is susceptible to numerous losses in quality of life, which can have social impacts, economic and psychological. For this reason, the investigation of alternative and low-cost technologies for the treatment of wounds is imperative. The study aimed to describe the use of 10% papain gel in the treatment of wounds arising from amputation processes, characterize the sociodemographic profile of individuals and trace the clinical profile of the patients involved in the study. For this, a pilot study was carried out in a Health Unit in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes/RJ, which works in welcoming patients with chronic wounds of different etiologies. The sample consisted of two individuals, of both sexes, with chronic wounds resulting from recent amputation processes in the lower limbs, treated with a 10% papain gel between April 19 and June 21, 2021. In clinical development, is considered the treatment of wounds with 10% papain gel and measurement of wound area using ImageJ software. Statistical analysis of data was performed using SPSS version 23 software. The sociodemographic results obtained showed that 100% of the sample was composed of patients of economically active age (±51.5 years), both living in areas far from the location where they undergo the treatment of the lesions (±28.5 km), requiring of great displacement to change dressings, which can hinder access to the Health Service. As for the characterization of the clinical profile, 100% of the sample had hypertension and diabetes undergoing treatment for both pathologies, with recent surgical amputation (less than 6 months) at the wound site. Regarding wound healing, patient A showed a reduction in wound area (cm2) of 37.54%, and patient B of 40.53%. Treatment with 10% papain gel was presented as a viable and low-cost alternative compared to the usual coverage offered by the public sector, representing an effective savings of 42% when comparing therapies with similar results. It is suggested that further studies be carried out to expand the scope of evaluation of the alternative therapy proposed by this study.