The effect of a semiocclusive dressing on the microbial population in superficial wounds.

Superficial wounds in a Yorkshire pig were treated with a semiocclusive polyurethane film dressing (PUD) or left open. The number and types of microflora present in the wounds each day was determined by a scrub technique, selective media, and the spiral plating system. In wounds covered with the PUD, the number of organisms increased, and there were more gram-negative pathogens. We concluded that microorganisms in wound beds multiply and survive better beneath a semiocclusive dressing than with air exposure.