Journal Scan

In a study published in JAMA in 1996, a randomized, double-blind, prospective trial involving 922 dermatologic surgery patients compared the incidence of infection and allergic contact dermatitis between those using white petrolatum jelly (WP) and those using bacitracin ointment. After excluding 38 patients who could not be followed up, the remaining 884 patients with 1207 wounds were analyzed, with 610 wounds treated with WP and 597 with bacitracin. The infection rates were 2% (9 patients) in the WP group and 0.9% (4 patients) in the bacitracin group, with no statistical difference in healing between the two groups at day 1, day 7, or day 28. Allergic contact dermatitis was not observed in the WP group, while 0.9% (4 patients) in the bacitracin group developed it. The study concluded that substituting WP for bacitracin could save the US healthcare system 8 to 10 million dollars annually without compromising wound healing or increasing infection rates.