The Effect of Chamomile Cream on Improvement of Grade I Pressure Ulcer in Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of chamomile cream on the improvement of grade I pressure ulcer in order to find an effective and inexpensive treatment.

In this randomized clinical trial study, 70 patients with grade I pressure ulcer were randomly divided into two groups. In intervention group, chamomile cream was administered topically on the wound for one week, and in the control group, common preventive methods were presented. Then, the condition of wound healing was evaluated for all patients using the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) instrument, at the first, fourth, and seventh days of the study.

There was no significant difference in the mean scores of pressure ulcer between the two groups at the first day of the study (P > 0.050). At the fourth and seventh days of the study, the mean scores of pressure ulcer were significantly lower in intervention group (P < 0.001). Before intervention, the mean score of pressure ulcer in intervention group was 6.44 ± 2.25 which reduced to 1.33 ± 1.12 at the seventh day. In control group, the first assessment of the PUSH score was 5.86 ± 1.93 which increased to 8.14 ± 2.40 at the seventh day.

Chamomile cream seems to be effective in the treatment of grade I pressure ulcer. This combination is likely to be used as a treatment option in addition to standard treatment, and will be effective in the treatment of grade I pressure ulcer in the short term. However, due to the fact that this study was conducted on grade I pressure ulcer, more studies are suggested be done to investigate the effect of chamomile on the recovery of grade II pressure ulcer.