Dressing-Change Frequency in Acute Hand Burns: A Narrative Review of Healing, Infection Risk, Pain, Scar Quality, and...

Acute hand burns require dressing strategies that support wound healing while preserving motion, splint tolerance, pain control, scar quality, and functional recovery. However, the optimal dressing-change frequency for acute hand burns remains poorly defined because most available studies evaluate dressing type rather than dressing interval, and few report hand-specific outcomes. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from partial-thickness burn dressing studies, silver and biosynthetic dressing literature, hand-burn rehabilitation research, scar-outcome studies, and burn pain and infection literature. Current evidence suggests that modern occlusive, antimicrobial, silicone foam, synthetic, and biosynthetic dressings may reduce dressing-change burden and procedural pain in selected superficial or partial-thickness burns while maintaining acceptable healing outcomes. However, extended dressing intervals require careful patient and wound selection, particularly when burn depth is uncertain, exudate is heavy, dressing adherence is poor, infection is suspected, or follow-up reliability is limited. For hand burns, dressing frequency should be individualized not only according to wound status but also according to functional needs, including early range of motion, splint compatibility, edema control, and therapy participation. Overall, the available literature does not support routine daily dressing changes for every acute hand burn, but stronger hand-specific comparative studies are needed to define optimal dressing-change intervals using standardized healing, infection, pain, scar, and functional outcomes.