Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A prospective randomised clinical pilot study to compare the effectiveness of Biobrane® synthetic wound dressing, with or without autologous cell suspension, to the local standard treatment regimen in paediatric scald injuries.
Scald is the most common cause of burn in children in Australia. The time taken by the burn wound to heal impacts on scar outcome. Commonly scald injuries are treated conservatively; in our unit the practice is that if healing does not occur within 10 days, surgery is used to aid healing with the aim of improving scar outcome. This randomised controlled pilot study compares early treatment regimens to facilitate tissue salvage and reduce the incidence of definitive surgery at 10 days following scald injury. ⋯ Investment of surgical resources in the acute stages within 4 days of injury saved on nursing time, dressing, analgesic and scar management costs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A randomised prospective study of split skin graft donor site dressings: AWBAT-D™ vs. Duoderm®.
To assess patient comfort and wound-healing efficacy of a new, purpose-designed biosynthetic material (AWBAT-D™) in the healing of split-skin graft donor sites in comparison with our standard dressing, Duoderm(®). ⋯ Based on these early results, AWBAT-D™ appears to have slower donor site healing and does not provide significant improvements in postoperative pain or discharge time compared to Duoderm(®). There is no evidence at this stage that our standard donor site dressing should be changed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effects of splinting on shoulder function in adult burns.
Exercises are commonly prescribed to improve shoulder range following axillary burns, but the effect of additional splinting is unclear. ⋯ Shoulder splints did not improve clinical outcomes in this study population and low adherence rates suggest splinting may be unacceptable to patients and makes drawing firm conclusions difficult.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Virtual reality for acute pain reduction in adolescents undergoing burn wound care: a prospective randomized controlled trial.
Effective pain management remains a challenge for adolescents during conscious burn wound care procedures. Virtual reality (VR) shows promise as a non-pharmacological adjunct in reducing pain. ⋯ Despite only minimal pain reduction achieved using off-the-shelf VR, other results from this trial and previous research on younger children with burns suggest a customized, adolescent and hospital friendly device may be more effective in pain reduction.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A novel option in negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) for chronic and acute wound care.
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has become a widely accepted technique in treatment of all kinds of wounds. After a long period of clinical application of the V.A.C.™ system (KCI Inc., San Antonio, Texas, USA) a number of options for delivery of NPWT are now commercially available. An urgent need exists for evidence demonstrating clinical efficacy of these new devices to support clinicians regarding their choice of NPWT. ⋯ After a long period of preserving a monopoly market position of the V.A.C.™ system, a new comparable option was successfully tested in this preliminary study. The polyurethane foam-based NPWT system (RENASYS GO™ - F/P, Smith & Nephew GmbH) is an efficient and cost-effective alternative NPWT system, which we effectively implemented in therapeutic management of different kinds of wounds.