Alternative dressings used for treating major burns

Abstract

Context: Across the globe burn injuries are one of the most important cause of morbidity and mortality, with great costs for health care. Partial-Thickness burns require dressings that are very expensive and that must be changed very often. If these types of burns are not treated adequate they can get infected, leave vicious scars and even deepen to become full-Thickness burns. Objective: To review the medical literature regarding the use of different dressings in treated major bum wounds. Data sources and study selection: The articles regarding the use of dressings were selected from articles published between 1991 and 2017. All searches used the terms dressings for bum wounds, partial thickness bums management, modern bum dressings. Relevant information from the articles was further researched. Data synthesis: Eighteen studies were considered relevant for this review. This article reviews different dressings used for burn wounds. There are many types of dressings that can be used in a bum unit, including: Xeroform petrolatum gauze, biological dressings, silver-impregnated dressings, hydrocolloid dressings, polyurethane film dressings, hydrogel dressings, silicon coated nylon dressings, biosynthetic skin substitute dressings and newly researched dressings. Conclusions: Future studies must demonstrate further dressings that can be used to maximize the epitelisation quality, to minimize the time necessary for creating new skin, to permit to form less fibrous tissue and to minimize the complication rate like the infection risk, the lysis of the newly formed epithelium and other skin diseases and general complications. We have to research all these aspects in order to discover the ideal dressing for excellent results.