Contact dermatoses develop frequently during the treatment of surgical patients with serious intra-abdominal disease. The procedures commonly responsible for these dermatoses are temporary or permanent exteriorization of open bowel, or drainage from within the peritoneal cavity to the outside, or both. Protection of the skin against contact irritants from intra-abdominal drainage of any form is a major part of the patient's care.
Many types of skin protectants, in the form of powders, ointments, and plastics, have been used on the surgical services of the Cincinnati General Hospital and the Children's Hospital in the past. None was found to be consistently effective.
This report is a clinical evaluation of the effectiveness of a dimethicone (silicone)containing ointment as a skin protectant on the surgical services of the above hospitals over a seven-month period.
Materials and Methods
The ointment (Silicote) used in this study contains 30% of the silicones in a petrolatum base.