The Effectiveness of Silver-containing Hydrofiber Dressing Compared With Topical Silver Sulfadiazine Cream in Pediatric Patients With Deep Partial-Thickness Burns: A Retrospective Review

BACKGROUND: Deep partial-thickness (DPT) burns are a common pediatric burn injury and involve the limbs and trunk. Initial management of a pediatric burn is conservative and consists of wound dressings and creams to optimize the environment for reepithelialization. Silver-containing Hydrofiber dressings (SHDs) and silver sulfadiazine (SS) cream are used widely to treat burn wounds. However, the effectiveness of the 2 methods when applied to pediatric DPT burn wounds is unclear. PURPOSE: This study was performed to compare the effectiveness of SHD versus SS cream in pediatric patients with DPT burns. METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective review of data collected from 92 pediatric patients (mean age, 51.44 months; range, 2 months to 18 years) with DPT burns to the limbs and trunk involving 5% to 10% of total body surface area who were admitted to a burn center from January 2018 through January 2020; more than 75% of these burns were scald injuries. Of the patients included in this analysis, 40 were treated with topical SS cream, whereas SHDs were used in 52 patients. Outcomes included time to complete healing, number of dressing changes, nursing care time, hospitalization expenses, complications, and patient primary caregiver satisfaction score using a 4-point Likert scale. RESULTS: The complete healing time was significantly shorter in the SHD group compared with the SS group (18.98 +/- 2.21 days vs 22.45 +/- 2.25 days, respectively; P < .05). There were fewer dressing changes in the SHD group than in the SS group (4 +/- 0.74 vs 11.55 +/- 0.88, P < .05). Overall, caregivers of patients in the SHD group reported better satisfaction than caregivers in the SS group. CONCLUSION: When compared with SS cream, the use of SHD was found to be a safe, effective, and economical therapeutic method for treating DPT burns in the pediatric patients included in this study.