NaCl vs distilled water in wound healing – is traditional wound care still effective?

Aims To compare the effectiveness of distilled water (aquadest) and 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl) in promoting wound healing, based on wound diameter, re-epithelialisation, granulation formation, neovascularisation and inflammatory response. Methods An in vivo experimental study was conducted using 27...

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Publicado en:Wound Practice & Research Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 1 - 10
Autores principales: </strong>, <strong>Author(s), Wahab, Siswanto, *, Khairuddin Djawad, Miskad, Upik, Cahyadi, Stefan, Pelangi, Aurora
Formato: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Cambridge Publishing Mar2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2026
      vid: 34
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      pub: Cambridge Publishing
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        10.33235/wpr.34.1.23-31
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        atl: NaCl vs distilled water in wound healing – is traditional wound care still effective?
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          </strong>, <strong>Author(s)
          Wahab, Siswanto
          *, Khairuddin Djawad
          Miskad, Upik
          Cahyadi, Stefan
          Pelangi, Aurora
        affil: Department of Dermatology, Venereology andamp; Aesthetic, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia
      sug:
        subj:
          Normal Saline Therapeutic Use
          Water Therapeutic Use
          Wound Healing
          Wound Care Methods
          Therapeutic Irrigation Methods
          Rats
          Animal Studies
          Models, Biological
          Comparative Studies
          Indonesia
          In Vivo Studies
          Experimental Studies
          Wound Measurement
          Granulation Tissue
          Friedman Test
          Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test
          Confidence Intervals
          Inflammation Prevention and Control
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Ketamine Administration and Dosage
          Sulfur Compounds Administration and Dosage
          Administration, Intraperitoneal
      ab: Aims To compare the effectiveness of distilled water (aquadest) and 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl) in promoting wound healing, based on wound diameter, re-epithelialisation, granulation formation, neovascularisation and inflammatory response. Methods An in vivo experimental study was conducted using 27 male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus), randomly assigned into three groups (control, aquadest, and NaCl). Full-thickness wounds were created on the dorsum of each rat and treated daily for 14 days. On days 2, 7 and 14, the wounds were assessed macroscopically and histologically, quantitively and semi-qualitatively. Statistical analysis included Friedman and Wilcoxon tests, along with effect size calculations (Cohen's d and 95% confidence intervals). Results Aquadest significantly improved reepithelialisation (p=0.018), granulation tissue formation (p=0.022), and reduced inflammation (p= 0.039) compared to baseline. NaCl did not demonstrate statistically significant improvements across any parameter. Although wound diameter reduction in the aquadest group was not statistically significant (p=0.117), it showed a moderate-to-large effect size (d=0.78), with qualitative analysis showing the reduction of inflammatory cells and increase of neovascular count and epithelial thickness (p=0.040). Conclusions Distilled water showed superior performance to 0.9% NaCl in supporting multiple aspects of wound healing in a rat model.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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