How a dog and cat healed infected chronic wounds with new treatment

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe the use of an innovative printed electroceutical dressing (PED) to treat non-healing, infected chronic wounds in one dog and one cat and report outcomes. ANIMALS: A 4-year-old female spayed Mastiff and a 1-year-old female spayed domestic shorthair cat. STUDY DESIGN: Short case series. METHODS: Both cases had chronic wounds (duration: approximately 1 year for the dog and 6 3/4 months for the cat) that remained open and infected despite various wound management strategies. Both animals were treated with the PED. Observations from the records regarding wound size, antimicrobial susceptibility, and the time to healing were recorded. RESULTS: After 10 days of PED treatment in the dog and 17 days of PED treatment in the cat, the wounds had decreased in size by approximately 4.2 times in the dog and 2.5 times in the cat. Culture of punch biopsies yielded negative results. Wounds were clinically healed at 67 days in the dog and 47 days in the cat. No further treatment of the wounds was required beyond that point. CONCLUSION: Application of a PED led to closure of two chronic wounds and resolution of their persistent infection. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: PEDs may provide a new treatment modality to mitigate infection and promote healing of chronic wounds.