Conventional management of partial-thickness
burn wounds includes the use of
paraffin gauze dressing, frequently with topical
silver-based antibacterial creams. Some creams form an overlying slough that renders
wound assessment difficult and are painful upon application. An alternative to conventional management,
moist exposed burn ointment (MEBO), has been proposed as a topical agent that may accelerate wound healing and have antibacterial and
analgesic properties. One hundred fifteen patients with partial-thickness
burns were randomly assigned to conventional (n = 58) or MEBO treatment (n = 57). A verbal numerical rating score of
pain was made in the morning, after
burn dressing, and some 8 hours later. Patient
pain profiles were summarized by locally weighted regression smoothing technique curves and the difference between treatments estimated using multilevel regression techniques. Mean verbal numerical rating scale
pain levels (cm) in week 1 for all patients were highest at 3.2 for the after dressing assessment, lowest in the evening at 2.6, and intermediate in the morning at 3.0. This pattern continued at similar levels in week 2 and then declined by a mean of 0.5 in all groups in week 3. There was little evidence to suggest a difference in
pain levels by treatment group with the exception of the postdressing
pain levels in the first week when those receiving MEBO had a mean level of 0.7 cm (95% confidence interval, 0.2 to 1.1) lower than those on conventional
therapy. MEBO appeared to bring greater
pain relief for the postdressing assessment during the first week after
burns. This initial relief, together with comparable
pain levels experienced on other occasions, indicates that MEBO could be an alternative to conventional
burns management.