[Treatment of burns. Experimental and clinical studies]

Burn disease is a severe complication of all extensive deep burns. Therefore, the destroyed skin must be removed and the open wounds closed as soon as possible. Until now only the early surgical necrectomy and grafting can meet these essentials. Our studies on "chemical débridement" by various enzyme preparations showed that collagenase hastened the removal of dead tissue without any complications. The subsequent application of soluble collagen to the would area caused significant acceleration of wound closure in rats as well as in pigs without immunological reactions. Finally, evidence of anti-collagen antibodies may be important for the treatment of burn disease if a direct effect can be proved.