Plastic surgical nursing : official journal of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical Nurses
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A prospective randomized trial comparing silver sulfadiazine cream with a water-soluble polyantimicrobial gel in partial-thickness burn wounds.
The lipid base of silver sulfadiazine (SSD) makes removal of the product painful for the patient and difficult for the physician to accurately assess particularly in partial-thickness burn injuries. As an alternative, a water-soluble antimicrobial gel is used at the University of Virginia. We present a prospective, randomized comparison of these two therapies using pain with dressing changes and time to perform dressing changes as our primary endpoints. ⋯ A 6.08 greater morphine equivalent was delivered to those having BWG removed. A water-soluble polyantimicrobial gel was superior to SSD in the parameters measured as exhibited by our patient dropout rate and differential time to perform dressing care. Limiting the time to perform dressing care will reduce the cumulative pain experience, improve patient satisfaction, and reduce the resources to deliver care.