Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Nonsilver treatment vs. silver sulfadiazine in treatment of partial-thickness burn wounds in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The evidence for application of silver-containing dressings and topicals in the treatment of partial-thickness burns in pediatric patients is largely based on clinical trials involving adult patients despite the important differences between the skin of children and adults. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed of all randomized controlled trials comparing nonsilver treatment with silver-containing dressings and silver topical agents in children with partial-thickness burns in the acute stage. Endpoints were wound healing, grafting, infection, pain, number of dressing changes, length of hospital stay, and scarring. ⋯ Most trials were of moderate quality with high risk of bias. Use of nonsilver treatment led to shorter wound healing time (weighted mean difference: -3.43 days, 95% confidence interval: -4.78, -2.07), less dressing changes (weighted mean difference: -19.89 dressing changes, 95% confidence interval: -38.12, -1.66), and shorter length of hospital stay (weighted mean difference: -2.07 days, 95% confidence interval: -2.63, -1.50) compared with silver sulfadiazine treatment, but no difference in the incidence of wound infection or grafting was found. In conclusion, nonsilver treatment may be preferred over silver sulfadiazine, but high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to validly confirm the effectiveness of silver containing preparations, in particular silver-containing dressings, above nonsilver treatments.