Silver sulphadiazine and the healing of partial thickness burns: a prospective clinical trial

A clinical trial was devised to determine whether the healing of partial thickness burns was retarded by the use of silver sulphadiazine cream (SSD) compared with simple, non-bacteriocidal dressings. Biopsy-confirmed partial thickness burns of at least 2% confluent area were dressed according to a strict protocol to compare the rate of epithelialisation of the control dressing, tulle gras, with that obtained with the use of silver sulphadiazine. The same comparative dressing regimen was carried out on a series of split thickness graft donor sites. Twenty such donor sites and fifteen burn areas were admitted to the trial. The mean time to healing of SSD-treated burn areas was longer than that for tulle gras; the difference when analysed by paired t-test was statistically significant (p less than 0.05). There was very little difference in the compared healing rates of the donor sites, which implies that SSD does not retard epithelialisation of dermal depth injuries but rather that the delayed healing is a unique response of the partial thickness burn wound to the presence of SSD. A review of the relevant literature is included in the discussion.