Substantiation of the method of manufacturing gauze swabs depending on the purpose of use

Annotation. Gauze remains the main dressing. It is used to make swabs for drying wounds and dissecting tissues. The purpose of the work is to establish the optimal density of the swab for drainage of the wound and preparation of tissues. Swabs made of 10x12 cm gauze fragments were investigated. The gauze fragments were weighed before and after immersion in water and the absorption capacity per unit dry weight was calculated. The dissecting properties of the swabs were investigated on plasticine blocks, the surface of which was pressed with a force of 12 N. The formed depressions were filled with gypsum. The volume and weight of the casts were determined. To determine the reliability of the difference between the two mean values used the reliability criterion t (Student’s test). It was found that loose swabs absorbed 913.5±43.9% of water, medium density – 766.3±55.2%, dense – 682.9±70.1 (p˂0.05). This is due to the fact that loose swabs have the largest in radius and length of the capillaries. When studying the recesses formed by embossing the swab on the surface of the block, it was found that when using loose swabs formed a deep conical recess, which indicated the risk of injury. When embossed with dry swabs of medium density received molds weighing 0.034±0.0000011 g, wet – 0.033±0.0000011 g (p>0.05). When using dense swabs – 0.037±0.0000011 g and 0.034±0.0000011 g, respectively (p˂0.05). Dense swabs showed the best dissecting properties. When wet, they are slightly but significantly reduced. Medium density swabs have slightly worse dissecting properties. When wet, they did not change significantly. We attribute the decrease in dissecting properties to the displacement of water from the gauze when pressed. Thus, loose swabs (∆M=913.5%±43.9%) absorb fluid best, which determines their predominant use for wound drying. Dense swabs are characterized by the lowest absorption capacity (682.9±70.1%), the best dissecting properties.