Parkland uses innovative burn wound dressings to reduce pain, promote healing

Published: 3/26/2014

Suffering a severe burn is a traumatic experience. For those who survive, their wounds are slow to heal, excruciatingly painful and susceptible to infection. To make matters worse, hospitalized burn patients have to endure additional intense pain and distress during wound care. Twice a day, nurses must clean the burn wounds and apply fresh gauze dressings that have been soaked in antimicrobial solutions to help prevent infection. Studies have shown that painful daily wound care procedures are particularly traumatic for pediatric burn patients and can interrupt and delay wound healing.

Fortunately, for some patients this traditional treatment regimen is being replaced at leading-edge burn units like the renowned Burn Center at Parkland Memorial Hospital, where use of silver-infused antimicrobial dressings means less pain, reduced need for pain medications and shorter hospital stays for burn victims. Because of this breakthrough, patients whose injuries are appropriate for this therapy can be discharged much sooner than previously possible.

“Silver-infused dressings only need to be changed every 7 to 21 days instead of twice daily, so patients can be safely allowed to recuperate at home when their condition permits and they can come in to the Burn Center’s outpatient clinic once a week to have their wounds examined and dressings changed,” said Sue Vanek, Burn Program Manager at Parkland Health & Hospital System.

“These longer-lasting dressings are particularly helpful with children,” she added. “Kids don’t tolerate pain as well as most adults and they don’t understand why caregivers must change their dressings a couple of times a day. Anything we can do to reduce their pain and length of hospital stay is a big plus.”

Long known as an effective antimicrobial, silver has recently been used in innovative technologies in a variety of medical devices such as catheters and implants. One of its most promising applications, according to research published in the Annals of Surgery in August 2012, is in antibacterial wound dressings that could benefit millions of people worldwide who suffer from serious burns or chronic wounds, including approximately seven million people in the U.S. alone.

“Burn wounds are particularly susceptible to infection,” Vanek explained. “Wound dressings that contain topical antimicrobials such as ionic silver combat a wide range of microorganisms found in burn wounds. And because the silver-impregnated dressings only have to be changed once a week, they are a huge advance in patient care. Patients can be safely discharged sooner. They don’t have to take as much pain medication, and they experience less stress overall.”

The benefits accrue to hospitals as well as patients and their families. Although the antimicrobial dressings are more expensive, they affect overall cost of care by reducing length of hospital stays, nursing hours spent changing dressings and use of pain medications.

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