Research Note: Electroceutical Dressing for Infected Chronic Wounds in Cats & Dogs

This short case series described use of printed electroceutical dressings for treatment of nonhealing, infected chronic wounds. Bacteria use electrostatic interactions for surface adhesion¹; electroceuticals generate electric fields from open circuit potentials to help disinfect wounds but have no current flow. Conversely, the printed electroceutical dressings in this study used direct current with a battery pack as a source of electrical potential. Direct current has inhibitory effects against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.^2-4 Wound size decreased by ≈4.2 times in a dog treated with a printed electroceutical dressing for 10 days and by ≈2.5 times in a cat after 17 days of treatment. Culture of wound punch biopsies were negative. Wounds were clinically healed by 67 days in the dog and 47 days in the cat; no further treatment was necessary.