Use of Biobrane in pediatric scald burns — experience in 106 children

This report describes 141 scalded children admitted from January 1993 to June 1995. The mean age of patients was 2 yr 11 months. The average burn size was 11.4 percent TBSA. The male to female ratio was 1,6:1 (87:54). One hundred and six of the children were initially diagnosed as suffering from superficial or medium partial-thickness burns. After proper evaluation and resuscitation, all of them received immediate debridement and Biobrane coverage. This biosynthetic dressing was fixed with adhesive tape and compressive dressing. No splints were used. Pain tolerance was good and these children were able to resume their daily activities as early as possible. If vital signs were stable and Biobrane adherence occurred, the patients were discharged. The dressings were easily changed on an out-patient basis; therefore, the hospital stay and ultimate cost of burn care both decreased. This experience confirmed that Biobrane is quite suitable for consideration in treating pediatric scalds. Accurate diagnosis of depth is very important. The best results can be obtained only on superficial partial-thickness burns. A high wound infection rate occurred in the medium partial-thickness burn wounds (7.8 vs. 62.1 percent).