The Editorial Executive Committee welcomes letters, which should be less than 250 words. Before a decision to publish is made, letters which refer to a published article may be sent to the author for a response. Any letter may be sent to an expert for comment. When letters are published, they are usually accompanied in the same issue by their responses or comments. The Committee screens out discourteous, inaccurate or libellous statements. The letters are sub-edited before publication. Authors are required to declare any conflicts of interest. The Committee's decision on publication is final.

 

Letter to the editor

Editor, – In the article 'Current concepts in wound dressings' (Aust Prescr 1996;19:11-3) by P.G. Hayward and W.A. Morrison, no mention is made of that cheap agent hydrogen peroxide in wound debridement. I find it quite useful. What do the authors think of it?

Peter C. Stephenson
General Practitioner
Narangba, Qld

 

Authors' comments

The authors of the article, Drs P.G. Hayward and W.A. Morrison, comment:

We too use peroxide as a cleansing agent during surgical debridement. It has the added advantage of being relatively haemostatic. However, it has limited in vivo activity against Gram positive bacteria and so other antiseptic agents are probably superior where antiseptic activity is required in the cleansing of surface wounds.

Peter C. Stephenson

General Practitioner, Narangba, Qld

P.G. Hayward

W.A. Morrison