Sheffield Professor´s research could save NHS millions

A study led by a Sheffield Professor could save the NHS millions a year - by proving that treating leg ulcers with inexpensive dressings works just as well as the widely used expensive alternatives. Researchers, led by Professor Jonathan Michaels from the University of Sheffield´s School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) and Sheffield Vascular Institute at the Northern General Hospital, studied 213 leg ulcer patients who received either standard low-adhesive dressings or `antimicrobial silver-donating´ dressings. The study, published in the October issue of British Journal of Surgery (BJS), showed no significant differences between the two groups when it came to healing rates and quality of life, but the average cost of treating a patient with silver dressings was 30 per cent higher than the alternative. Jonathan Michaels, Professor of Vascular Surgery at the University and Honorary Consultant at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, said: "Latest figures from the National Prescribing Centre suggest that wound dressings cost the NHS £100 million in 2006-7, excluding staff time, and that silver dressings accounted for a quarter of this cost. However, until now, no studies have been published examining the cost-effectiveness of using antimicrobial silver-donating dressings beneath compression therapy to treat venous leg ulcers." Venous leg ulcers are relatively common in older people and, as the population ages, the costs of caring for them increases. Multi-layer compression bandaging is now the standard treatment for venous leg ulcers, with dressings placed over the actual wound to promote healing.