Triamcinolone and 5-Fluorouracil to Manage the Burn Hypertrophic Scar

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the efficacy and side effect of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and Triamcinolone (TA) as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of burn hypertrophic scars. METHODS: This is a prospective and randomized design. Twenty patients with burn hypertrophic scars of varying size and more than 3 months duration were included in this study. All the patients were given intralesional 5FU and TA in different scars at weekly intervals for 4 weeks. Improvement was assessed by the thickness, melanosis, erythema, pliability, and the side effects experienced were noted at each scar. RESULTS: The thickness score was significantly improved in both TA and 5FU injection, more improvement in 5FU than TA. The melanosis score, erythema score, and pliability score were all reported insignificantly different outcome. The side effects were not encountered in TA group, but melanosis in 40%, slough in 20% were observed in the 5-FU group. CONCLUSION: The efficacy of 5-FU is comparable to TA as a treatment option for burn hypertrophic scar. Its effect on lightening of the lesion was promising with the exception of the incidence of adverse effects of melanosis and slough.