ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The last decade has focused on healing as the major outcome of burn management with little attention paid to other important patient-centered outcomes, such as pain. Traditional standard dressings using silver sulfadiazine cream and vaseline gauze may result in significant pain at dressing change, wound dryness, increase necessity for dressing change, and also traumatizing the skin and wound bed. In this paper we introduce Mepitel(R), a new silicone dressing material showing satisfactory result than previous traditional standard dressings in burn dressing. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational study of 15 adult patients with second degree burn. At the arrive, we initially applied Mepitel(R) after bullae aspiration and changed the cover dressing depending on the degree of exudate from burn while still applying Mepitel(R) for 3 days. After dressing change, pain intensity was measured on an 11-point numeric rating scale. RESULTS: Mean time to wound reepithelization was 10.2 days and mean pain scores on a 11-point scale associated with dressing changes was 5.2 while requiring 0.5 intravenous narcotic administrations per dressing change. CONCLUSION: Mepitel(R) is a new grid like silicone coated nylon dressing containing no additional biologic compounds. The advantages of the Mepitel(R) are easy of use, non-adhesion to the wound, very good tolerance, keep moisture of wound and absence of pain during dressing change. This product has been used in our clinics and this paper serves as a report on our experiences with it.