Background: In fingertip injuries, dressing material often adheres to the wound because of bleeding, causing pain when removed. Chitosan is a new local hemostatic dressing certified for external use. It can enhance platelet adhesion, aggregation and accelerated blood coagulation.

Objective: We hypothesized that dressing with chitosan gauze would cause less pain and decrease bleeding at dressing changes.

Material and Method: In a prospective, randomized, controlled trial, 65 patients were diagnosed with fingertip injury. Eight of them were excluded because of underlying disease. Sixty fingers from 57 patients were randomized into the standard dressing group (30) and the chitosan dressing group (30). Visual analogue scale for pain was recorded after the first and second dressings. Blood volume from the wound was collected from the dressing material at the second dressing. Data from both groups were compared using independent t-test.

Results: The result showed significantly less bleeding from the chitosan group compared with the standard group. Pain was not significantly different at the first dressing but the chitosan group was significantly less painful at the second dressing. There were no complications after suture removal.

Conclusion: Chitosan gauze can be used as an alternative dressing material to decrease dressing pain and bleeding in fingertip injury. Further studies are needed to expand the application of chitosan in other areas.

Keywords: Fingertip injury, Dressing, Chitosan gauze