A Single-Arm Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Palash Kshara in the Management of Dushta Vrana w.s.t. Infected Wound

Background & Objective: Infected and non-healing wounds pose a significant therapeutic challenge in surgical practice, often characterized by persistent pain, excessive purulent or seropurulent discharge, foul odor, thick slough, unhealthy pale/exuberant granulation tissue, and stalled wound contraction. In Ayurvedic surgical literature, this pathological entity is comprehensively described as Dushta Vrana (vitiated/unhealthy wound), which mandates active debridement (Vrana Shodhana) followed by restorative healing (Vrana Ropana). Among the sixty classical therapeutic measures (Shashti Upakrama), Kshara Karma holds prime prominence owing to its Chedana (excision), Bhedana (incision), and Lekhana (scraping/debriding) properties. Materials & Methods: The study was conducted as an open-label, single-arm clinical trial comprising 20 patients presenting with signs and symptoms of Dushta Vrana (infected wound). Standardized Palash Kshara (alkaline preparation derived from the water-soluble ash of Butea monosperma) was applied topically over the prepared wound bed under aseptic precautions. Follow-up evaluations were conducted periodically to monitor changes in clinical parameters, including pain (VAS), wound discharge, foul smell, slough percentage, wound-bed floor condition, granulation tissue health, and wound surface area reduction.