An ongoing objective of
burn research is to evaluate
wound dressings and develop new treatments to expedite wound healing. This was a single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of
Aquacel Ag as a dressing for autogenous skin donor sites compared with
Xeroform. We hypothesized that donor sites treated with
Aquacel Ag would heal faster. Patients were considered for enrollment if they required
skin grafting with two donor sites >100 cm at least 2 inches apart. Dressings were observed daily starting on post-op day #2 until discharge and then weekly in the outpatient
burn clinic. Assessments evaluated
pain,
infection, and reapplication. Photographs were taken on post-op day #2, upon "90% re-epithelialization," and at post-op day #30-45.
Scar assessments and blinded photographic reviews were completed to assess cosmetic healing. Twenty-nine patients completed the study. Re-epithelialization occurred faster with
Xeroform (15.2 days vs. 17.6 days). Daily
pain scores were higher with
Xeroform (6.72 vs. 5.68) and
Aquacel Ag needed to be replaced more often (1.72 times vs. 0.10 times). Three patients developed donor site
infections with
Aquacel Ag.
Scar scores between the donor sites were not statistically significant. The blinded photo review concluded that
Xeroform had a better cosmetic outcome (24 vs. 10%). Although patients complained of more
pain with
Xeroform, it demonstrated shorter healing times and better cosmetic outcomes.
Aquacel Ag needed to be replaced more often and represented the only three donor site
infections.