TREATMENT OUTCOMES OF A COD LIVER OIL AND LANOLIN-BASED OINTMENT FOR MANAGING STAGE 1 AND 2 PRESSURE ULCERS IN OLDER PEOPLE

Objective: This study aimed to describe the evolution of pressure ulcers (PU) in older patients treated with an ointment containing cod liver oil and lanolin. Materials and Methods: A one-year prospective observational study was conducted on patients with stage 1 and 2 PUs who were admitted to an adult hospital. The ointment was applied once daily on the heels or twice on the sacral areas. Data on age, sex, PU location, stage, and risk assessment using the Braden scale were collected. The PUSH and RESVECH scales were used to assess the PU evolution. Results: Twenty-six patients with 35 PUs were included in this study. The treatment led to a daily reduction of PUSH=0.89 and RESVECH=0.62 for sacral areas, and PUSH=0.97 and RESVECH=0.77 for heel areas. While patients with diabetes exhibited a slower rate of reduction in both PUSH and RESVECH scores than non-diabetic patients, they still demonstrated a favorable evolution with the treatment. In addition, the use of air mattresses improved healing. Complete healing was achieved in 4 sacral cases, with an average treatment duration of 6.00 ± 5.66 days for stage 1 and 7.5 ± 0.71 days for stage 2. Similarly, 12 heel PUs healed with an average treatment duration of 7.63 ± 3.42 days for stage 1 and 13.25 ± 1.26 days for stage 2. Conclusion: Our results suggest that cod liver oil and lanolin-based ointment may be effective for treating stage 1 and 2 PUs in older patients, with potential benefits, including faster healing rates, particularly in conjunction with air mattress use.