Comparison of topical honey and povidone iodine-based dressings for wound healing: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: In this review and meta-analysis, we analyse the evidence to compare the efficacy of honey and povidone iodine-based dressings on the outcome of wound healing. Method: A systematic literature search was performed using PRISMA guidelines in academic databases including MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase and CENTRAL. A meta-analysis was carried out to assess the effect of honey and povidone iodine-based dressings on mean healing duration, mean hospital stay duration and visual analogue scale (VAS) score of pain. Results: From the search, 12 manuscripts with a total of 1236 participants (mean age: 40.7 +/- 11.7 years) were included. The honey-based dressings demonstrated a medium-to-large effect in reduction of mean healing duration (Hedge's g: -0.81), length of hospital stay (-3.1) and VAS score (-1.2) as compared with the povidone iodine-based dressings. We present evidence (level 1b) in favour of using honey for improvement of wound recovery as compared with povidone iodine. Conclusion: This review and meta-analysis demonstrate beneficial effects of honey-based dressings over povidone iodine-based dressings for wound recovery.