Re: INDICES> "SILVER SULPHADIAZINE"

[Joel Lexchin <joel.lexchin@utoronto.ca>]

For first degree and small second degree burns (partial thickness) 
silver
sulfadiazine can delay healing.  The reference and abstract for this
statement is:

Stern HS.  Silver suphadizine and the healing of partial thickness 
burns:
a prospective clinical trial.  British Journal of Plastic Surgery
1989;42:581-5.

A clinical trial was devised to determine whether the healing of 
partial
thickness burns was retarded by the use of silver sulphadiazine 
cream
(SSD) compared with simple, non-bacteriocidal dressings. Biopsy-
confirmed
partial thickness burns of at least 2% confluent area were dressed
according to a strict protocol to compare the rate of 
epithelialisation of
the control dressing, tulle gras, with that obtained with the use of
silver sulphadiazine. The same comparative dressing regimen was 
carried
out on a series of split thickness graft donor sites. Twenty such 
donor
sites and fifteen burn areas were admitted to the trial. The mean time to
healing of SSD-treated burn areas was longer than that for tulle gras; the
difference when analysed by paired t-test was statistically significant (p
less than 0.05). There was very little difference in the compared healing
rates of the donor sites, which implies that SSD does not retard
epithelialisation of dermal depth injuries but rather that the delayed
healing is a unique response of the partial thickness burn wound to the
presence of SSD. A review of the relevant literature is included in the
discussion.

Joel Lexchin

Joel Lexchin MD
121 Walmer Rd.
Toronto, Ontario
CANADA M5R 2X8
Phone:  (416)-964-7186
Fax:  (416)-923-9515
e mail:  joel.lexchin@utoronto.ca



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