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Published on: March 14, 2025
Silver containing hydrofiber dressing promotes wound healing in paediatric patients with partial thickness burns
C T Lau1, K K Y Wong2, P Tam2
1Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong. eugenelauct@hotmail.com.
Insights
Aquacel Ag dressing significantly reduces hospital stay and dressing changes for pediatric partial thickness burns. This advanced wound care also leads to less hypertrophic scar formation compared to standard dressings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric burn management
- Wound care technology
- Dermatology
Background:
- Burn injuries are a common cause of hospitalization in children.
- Optimal wound dressing for pediatric burns lacks international consensus.
- Aquacel Ag, a silver-impregnated hydrofiber dressing, shows promise.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review burn management over five years.
- To evaluate Aquacel Ag effectiveness in partial thickness burns in children.
- To compare outcomes with standard paraffin gauze dressing.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of pediatric burn admissions (2010-2014).
- Inclusion criteria: partial thickness burns, 2-25% total body surface area.
- Comparison between Aquacel Ag and standard paraffin gauze groups.
Main Results:
- Aquacel Ag group had significantly shorter hospital stays (14.26 vs 23.45 days).
- Fewer dressing changes were needed with Aquacel Ag (5.67 vs 20.59).
- Less hypertrophic scarring occurred in the Aquacel Ag group (1 vs 5 patients).
Conclusions:
- Aquacel Ag promotes faster healing in pediatric partial thickness burns.
- Reduced hypertrophic scar formation observed with Aquacel Ag.
- Aquacel Ag is an effective option for pediatric burn wound management.
Introduction:
Burn injury is one of the most common reasons for admission in paediatric population. There is currently no international consensus on the best wound dressing material. Aquacel Ag, a new silver containing hydrofiber dressing material has been reported to produce good clinical results. Yet, only a limited number of studies exist in the paediatric population. This study aims to review our experience of burn management over the past 5 years and to evaluate the effectiveness of Aquacel Ag in the management of partial thickness burns.
Methods:
A retrospective review of all patients admitted for burn injury between January 2010 and December 2014 was conducted. Patients' demographics, mechanism of injury, body surface areas involved, treatment applied, and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Patients with superficial injury, full thickness burns that required surgical debridement, burn area less than 2 % or more than 25 % of total body surface area, or incomplete clinical data were excluded from the comparative study.
Results:
A total of 119 patients were identified. 114 (96 %) was due to domestic injury, of which 108 (91 %) was food-related. The most commonly affected areas were limbs (n = 89, 74.8 %), followed by trunk (n = 62, 74.8). 84 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were recruited into the study. 31 patients received Aquacel Ag dressing and 53 patients received standard paraffin gauze dressing. The two groups showed no statistical difference in age, sex, percentage of total body surface area involved, and infection rate. Outcomes of patients treated with Aquacel Ag were compared with patients treated with standard dressing. The mean hospital stay was significantly shorter for the Aquacel Ag group (14.26 vs 23.45, p = 0.045). Aquacel Ag group required much less frequent dressing change (5.67 vs 20.59, p = 0.002). 5 patients in standard dressing group developed hypertrophic scar and required prolonged pressure garment, whereas only one hypertrophic scar was observed in the Aquacel Ag group.
Conclusion:
Aquacel Ag appears to promote early burn wound healing with less hypertrophic scar formation.
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