A small-scale re-evaluation of the efficacy of silver sulfadiazine for burns

Abstract

Burns remain one of the most common injuries contributing to an increase in trauma incidence in hospitals, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, it is essential to identify the appropriate care for these wounds. Silver sulfadiazine has been widely used for the treatment of burns, but its efficacy has not been re-evaluated in recent years. Therefore, this small-scale study aimed at re-evaluating the use of silver sulfadiazine in patients with burns at a hospital in Magelang, Indonesia. A total of seven patients with second- and third-degree burns were involved and received silver sulfadiazine for 5 months (March to July 2020). Data on their wounds were collected three times and evaluated by using the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) observation method. Wound outcomes were evaluated using on the basis of wound healing by secondary intention. Silver sulfadiazine was found to be effective; 85.7% of the wound area showed granulation tissue, and 75-100% of the wound area showed epithelialisation. However, patients complained of pain during silver sulfadiazine treatment. Therefore, additional nursing interventions seem to be needed to manage burns.

Keywords: Burns; Epithelialisation; Granulation; Nursing Outcomes Classification; Silver sulfadiazine.