HAEMATO-BIOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF EGGSHELL MEMBRANE AS A DRESSING MATERIAL FOR FULL-THICKNESS WOUNDS IN A RABBIT MODEL

Eggshell membrane (ESM) is a traditional but least explored natural wound dressing agent. Hematobiochemical parameters are important in assessing the deleterious effect of materials used in the wound study. The present study investigated the hematological alterations associated with using ESM as a wound dressing material. Various parameters such as hemoglobin (g/dl), differential leukocyte count (DLC) (%), glucose (mg/dl), and total protein (g/dl) were analyzed at different intervals. The values of heterophile gradually increased up to day 14, then started to decrease in all the groups and returned to normal by day 28. There was a significant decrease in lymphocytes in all the groups as there was an increase in heterophile, reaching the base value by day 28. A significant increase in TP was recorded from day 7 to day 21 in all the groups compared to the day 0 values. There was no significant variation in any of the other parameters evaluated. Overall, using ESM as a wound dressing agent has the least interference with hematological parameters. However, the relative decrease in the number of lymphocytes in DLC may be due to increased heterophils.