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The results are presented of a study of burn patients involving the use of Burnshield for cutaneous burns of varying degree caused by a number of agents. Our original aim was to look for useful materials in order to counteract pain in burn patients. The study has now also come to include the incidence of late complications (keloids and hypertrophic scars).

Jandera and Arturson have reported therapy with successive medication with Burnshield in experimental studies. The mean percentage of burned skin in our patients was 3.7% (range, 1-9%). All the patients were examined monthly and treated with Sameplast and/or Siloskin, depending whether the re-epithelialization zone post-burn still presented areas of granulation tissue in an active phase. Of the 18 patients included in the study, eight received therapy with Samples (one also with Siloskin).

Therapy in these cases was initiated after re-epithelialization and continued on average for 4.1 months (range, 1-14 months). The use of Burn shield only until re-epithelialization reduced the incidence of late complications to 44.4% (8 patients out of 18). The results of the follow-up after re-epithelialization showed an overall incidence of late complications in only 22.2% of the cases in the medical supplies.

Many agents have been used over the centuries in burns treatment. Cold water was tried in 1799 by Earle, while in even more remote times silver was an agent frequently used in the topical treatment of burns, a practice recently reintroduced by Moyer. It has been stated that a 0.5% silver nitrate solution is the lowest useful concentration of antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The materials Burnshield used in the treatment of burns range from conventional dressings (paraffin gauzes or silicone polymer, MEBO, etc.) to synthetic medications (impermeable adhesive film, creams and sprays, hydrocolloids, hydrogel, gels and superabsorbents, etc.) and biological dressings (allografts, xenograft skin, collagen, etc) in the medical supplies.

Between July 2000 and January 2001, we treated 20 patients with Burnshield for cutaneous burns of varying degree (1st-3rd degree) due to a variety of causal agents (physical and chemical). Eighteen patients with burns in more than 50% of the body surface area (BSA) were eventually included in the study – one was discarded owing to intolerance to Burnshield and one was transferred to another burns center. The mean age of the patients was 35.4 yr (range, 1-79 yr). Three patients were male and 15 were female. The mean percentage of burned skin was 3.7% (range, 1-9%).