Honey As a Wound Care Modality in Treating Deep Neck Space Abscess

Deep neck abscess is one of the diseases in the field of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery that has high morbidity, mortality, and costs. Management of deep neck abscesses involves incision and drainage, abscess exploration, systemic administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics, management of comorbid factors, and postoperative wound care until healing. Standard dressing for wound care has been time-consuming and costly. Honey is one type of dressing modality that has been widely used in wound care for various parts of the body and diseases. Honey is expected to be a more cost-efficient treatment modality that supports accelerated wound healing, leading to better outcomes and cost savings.

The research design used is a single-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT), where researchers randomly assign one intervention to respondents to compare the effects of honey and Prontosan on the wound healing process. The population and sample of the study include all patients with deep neck abscesses treated at Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, the teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medicine Gadjah Mada University and other hospitals equipped with board-certified Otorhinolaryngologists. The participants in the control group were treated with standard dressing, while participants in the study group were treated with standard dressing along with honey dressing.