Hydrogel Dressings Improve Burn Care

A hydrogel-based burn dressing offers quick pain relief and reduces eventual scarring, according to a recent study.

BurnShield, manufactured by Levtrade (Germiston, South Africa), is a burn dressing made of a transparent adhesive with selective permeability, containing a hydrogel with an active ingredient called Melaleuca alternifolia, also known as tea tree oil. The burn dressing absorbs and dissipates heat, providing relief, minimizing shock and skin damage, halting the burn process, and physically protecting against further contamination.

In a study published in the January 2006 issue of the Archives of Surgery, BurnShield was applied to cutaneous burns, ranging from first- to third-degree in severity, in all patients as a first treatment. The film was reapplied every 24-48 hours until re-epithelialization occurred, which happened in a mean of 17 days. In cases of skin maceration, a condition that develops when skin is consistently wet until it softens, turns white, and can easily get infected with bacteria or fungi, wound care was switched to a conventional gauze with a hyaluronate sodium dressing.

Of the 44 patients in the study, 19 received one hydrogel application, eight received two applications, five received three, six received four, and the remainder of patients received between five and 15 applications. The mean duration of hydrogel applications in all patients was 94.4 days. Mean time to pain relief after the hydrogel application was 2.3 minutes.

In the two-year follow-up study, hypertrophic scars developed in 5% of patients. The author of the study, Dr. Enzo Osti, of the San Dona di Piave Hospital (Venice, Italy), pointed out that the literature indicates that such scarring typically occurs in 45-70% of burn cases, and attributes the significant reduction in scarring to a reduction in burn zone temperature by hydrogel application and a reduction in wound maceration.



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