Pilot study comparing Kendall AMD antimicrobial foam dressing with ALLEVYN Ag hydrocellular antimicrobial dressing in venous leg ulcers

Infection is an important factor that delays wound healing, yet management of wound infection remains clinically challenging. This pilot study compared the clinical effectiveness of two antimicrobial foam dressings – Kendall™ AMD (Covidien; containing polyhexamethylene biguanide) and ALLEVYN™ Ag (Smith & Nephew; containing silver) – in terms of wound size reduction or complete healing of venous leg ulcers. Data analyses were conducted on 32 patients, with 34.38% of ulcers healing or re-epithelialising within the 12-week intervention phase – 63.64% from the Kendall AMD group (n=7) and 36.36% (n=4) from the ALLEVYN Ag group. Pain reduction was found to be greater in the Kendall AMD arm. Exudate levels were reduced during the study period. There is evidence from this study to suggest that Kendall AMD is as effective as ALLEVYN Ag, a widely used antimicrobial dressing, and is an efficient wound management product for hard-to-heal venous leg ulcers