OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effective duration of compression of acrylic adhesive bandaging compared to non-adhesive bandaging and to compare rate of venous ulcer healing using one layer adhesive bandaging as compared to standard three layer bandaging. DESIGN: The first trial involved patients who had undergone bilateral operations for varicose veins. Adhesive acrylate bandage was applied to the experimental limb and non-adhesive crepe to the control limb. The second trial involved patients with venous ulcers randomly allocated to two groups. The experimental group used the one layer acrylic adhesive bandage whilst the control was treated by the three layer bandage technique (zinc oxide paste bandage followed by a non-adhesive compression bandage and tubular overlay). SETTING: Hospital patients in the first trial and clinic patients in the second. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: First trial, 11 patients with bilateral varicose veins of which 10 completed. Second trial, 15 patients in the experimental group and 12 patients in the control group all of which completed. RESULTS: Non-adhesive bandaging lost effective compression after 24 hours. Acrylic adhesive bandage maintained effective compression after 1 week. The rate of venous ulcer healing was similar between the one layer adhesive bandage group and three layer group. One layer adhesive bandaging took only one quarter of the time to apply (p < 0.01%). CONCLUSIONS: Adhesive bandaging produced more effective sustained compression that non-adhesive crepe. Adhesive bandaging was as effective as the currently used three layer bandaging technique in healing venous ulcers and was quicker to apply.

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