Cong Fan and colleagues conducted a retrospective review about pediatric burns patients admitted to the pediatric burns unit from January 2014 to April 2015 at Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. This study aimed to compare the results of Biobrane dressing with a conventional silver foam dressing. In the Biobrane group, the length of hospital stay was significantly shorter and the infection rate was significantly lower.
The ideal burn dressing for children should aim to alleviate pain, decrease the length of hospital stay and minimize complications such as conversion and infection. The conventional management principle for burn injuries includes adequate resuscitation and early debridement of non-viable tissue, followed by skin grafting. Frequent dressing changes required for burn injuries are often painful and a source of great anxiety for the child and the parents. Frequent dressing changes required for burn injuries are often painful and a source of great anxiety for the child and the parents. Modern burn dressings aim to not only provide good wound coverage but also reduce the frequency of dressing changes needed
Cong Fan and colleagues conducted a retrospective review about pediatric burns patients admitted to the paediatric burns unit from January 2014 to April 2015 at Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. This study aimed to compare the results of Biobrane dressing with conventional silver foam dressing (i.e. Biatain Ag) for primary coverage of acute superficial partial-thickness burns.
The children have got at higher risk for hypertrophic scarring. For these reasons, optimal wound dressing for children should be easy to apply, not be traumatic when removed, promote rapid epithelialization, and reduce burn conversion and infection
Biobrane is designed to adhere to superficial partial-thickness burns and provide definitive coverage for such burn injuries. Biobrane is a bilaminate biosynthetic material comprising a semipermeable silicone membrane bonded to a layer of nylon fabric mesh that is coated with a layer of Type I collagen of porcine origin.
Before Biobrane, the acute partial-thickness burns were all managed with conventional silver-impregnated dressings. The Biobrane Biobrane has routinely been offered as the first-line burns dressing to paediatric patients with superficial partial-thickness burns of more than 5% of total body surface area (TBSA) who present within 24 hours of the injury.
A total of 30 patients were included in our study, of whom 13 had Biobrane® dressing. All had sustained superficial partial-thickness burns. The remaining 17 patients were treated with a conventional silver foam dressing. Long-term follow-up scar evaluation was carried out at an average interval of two years after injury
In the Biobrane group, the length of hospital stay was significantly shorter and the infection rate was significantly lower. The Biobrane group had no hypergranulation or wound infection and did not require skin grafting. The higher cost of the dressing is a disadvantage,(14) although some studies have reported that the use of Biobrane decreased the overall cost because sedation and dressing changes were less frequently required
this study has shown that Biobrane is suitable for the treatment of acute superficial partial-thickness burns in the paediatric population. Compared with a conventional silver foam dressing, the use of Biobrane dressing for acute superficial partial-thickness burns results in a shorter hospital stay, lower complication rate and less need for eventual skin grafting among paediatric patients.
Authors: Cong Fan, Chong Han Pek, Yong Chen Por, Gale Jue Shuang Lim
Biobrane dressing for paediatric burns in Singapore: a retrospective review. Singapore Med J. 2018 Jul; 59(7): 360–365.