| RESEARCH ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2019 | Volume
: 51
| Issue : 5 | Page : 316-322 |
Randomized controlled trial of topical mupirocin versus mupirocin with sucralfate combination in chronic skin ulcers
Subhrangsu Chatterjee1, Sumit Sen2, Avijit Hazra1, Amal Kanti Das1
1 Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
2 Department of Dermatology, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Correspondence Address:
Prof. Avijit Hazra
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, 244B Acharya J. C. Bose Road, Kolkata - 700 020, West Bengal
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijp.IJP_237_17
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to carry out a head-to-head comparison of topical sucralfate combined with mupirocin versus mupirocin alone in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers with respect to both effectiveness and safety.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A parallel-group, open-label, randomized, controlled trial (CTRI/2015/12/006443) was carried out with patients suffering from skin ulcers of Wagner grading 1 or 2 persisting for over 4 weeks. Ninety-six patients were recruited in total, and the modified intention-to-treat analysis dataset included 44 participants treated with mupirocin 2% and 46 treated with combined mupirocin 2% and sucralfate 7% ointment. Both medications were applied topically thrice daily for 6 weeks. Ulcer area assessed using millimeter graph paper and wound infection score assessed on a three-point scale were effectiveness measures. Treatment-emergent adverse reactions that were reported by patients or observed by the investigators were recorded.
RESULTS: The median ulcer area was significantly reduced in the combined treatment group at the end of treatment. Clinically, 41.3% of the participants in the combined group showed complete ulcer healing at 6 weeks compared to 18.18% in the mupirocin alone group (P = 0.022). The wound infection score declined significantly from baseline by the end of 3 weeks of treatment in both the groups. The frequency of qualitative wound attributes, namely pain, discharge, and erythema, remained comparable between the groups except for discharge which disappeared completely from all remaining ulcers in the combined group but was still present in 11.36% of the participants treated with mupirocin alone (P = 0.025) at 6 weeks. Adverse events were few, all local, mild, and tolerable.
CONCLUSIONS: The wound healing effect of topical sucralfate adds to the antimicrobial effect of mupirocin toward the overall improvement of chronic skin ulcers. The effect of combined topical treatment needs comparison with other topical medications and wound healing strategies.
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