ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Topical preparations are a common treatment for superficial acute wounds, which at the least do not interfere with healing and ideally result in enhanced wound healing irrespective of microbial colonization. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of a topical antimicrobial gel and its vehicle on the wound healing of standardized, superficial abrasions. METHODS: Thirty-three healthy volunteers were enrolled in a double-blinded, randomized, intraindividual comparison study. Three standardized, superficial abrasions were induced on their forearms. A tyrothricin 0.1% gel (Tyrosur® gel; Engelhard Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG, Niederdorfelden, Germany) and its vehicle were randomly applied to two of the test areas, and one lesion remained untreated. RESULTS: A significant improvement of wound healing was seen with both tyrothricin 0.1% gel and its corresponding vehicle in the clinical assessment. The mean area under the curve (AUC) of wound healing scores was the same for both preparations and the mean reepithelization scores were comparable at all test points over the entire 12 days. A lower mean AUC representing less reepithelization was found for the untreated test fields. CONCLUSION: The use of tyrothricin 0.1% gel and its corresponding vehicle resulted in statistically significant improved wound healing with an earlier onset of healing in particular. Based on these results obtained using an abrasive wound model, it can be concluded that the addition of tyrothricin 0.1% to the gel vehicle did not interfere with the improved wound healing seen with the vehicle alone.