The treatment of infected donor sites in burns patients
using 40% honey dressings (L-Mesitran Tulle)
The treatment of donor sites in burns requires special care in order to
reduce the risk of infection and to accelerate the healing process. This
study is based on the use of a dressing with a 40% honey gel dressing
(L-Mesitran Tulle) on an exuding donor site.
Infections are a common complication in severe burns. The burned
tissue contains toxic compounds which can cause a wide spread inflammatory response. Hence the importance of the use of products which
contain antimicrobial components which are able to control the diffusion of microorganisms. Topical honey application has proved to be
effective in prevention and treatment of infections in burns (Ravat F et
al, 2010)
Honey has been used in the treatment of wounds of different etiologies, with positive results (Silva et al, 2011).
In vitro studies have shown that honey is effective against multi-drug
resistant bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus
aureus (Alves et al, 2008).
There are references in the medical literature, to determine the effectiveness of honey in terms of wound healing, promotion of regeneration
through stimulation of angiogenesis and the growth of fibroblasts and
epithelial cells (Campos et al, 2009).
The antibacterial activity of honey gel due to its high osmolarity.
The autograft is characterized by harvesting skin tissue from the patient
himself with a dermatome. The crop is thus a superficial lesion that
heals in about 2 to 3 weeks.
The treatment of the donor site requires an effective and efficient
supervision to reduce the risk of infection and to speed up the healing
process.
A man, aged 50, suffered from second degree burns on his upper leg
and hip, caused by boiling water. The affected area was surgically
debrided and mesh-shaped autografts were applied onto the burned
area.
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Treatment continued until the healing process was completed, which
lasted for 11 days.
On the 4th day of treatment with L-Mesitran Tulle, excudate was
formed.
On the 6th day (2 days after) there was no exudate and the donor region was clean and blood supply was restored.
The results in the figures show the successful disinfection/cleaning and
healing of the donor site.
We conclude that the honey dressing accelerated the healing process
and induced better hydration and greater elasticity of the skin than
other dressings.
Authors:
Ana Cristina Rodrigues Almeida1; Ana Isabel Ferreira Santos2; Luisa Maria Rocha
Afonso1; Mariam Angustias Zafra Aguilar2.
1. Nurse Specialist in medical-surgical nursing. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte - Pólo
Santa Maria, Burns Unit. Lisbon, Portugal.
2. General Nurse. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte - Pólo Santa Maria, Burns Unit Lisbon,
Portugal.
References:
Alves, Diego Felipe Sampaio, et al. 2008. Efeitos da aplicação tópica do mel de melipona subtida em feridas infectadas de ratos. May / June 2008 vol.35 - No. 3, pp.188-193.
ISSN: 0100-6991.
Braye, Fabienne and Zilliox, Rémy, 2010. Grafts and management of cutaneous capital
in major burns. [Author] Echinard, Christian and Latarjet, Jaques. [Trans.] Leonor Abecassis. Burns. Loures: Lusociência, 2010, 19, pp. 199-205. ISBN: 978-972-8930-77-66.
Campos, Diana Catarina Ferreira and Graveto, João Manuel Garcia and Silva do Nascimento, Daisy Alexandra Gomes Nunes Carramanho Martins Moreira. 2009. A aplicação
do mel no tratamento de feridas. Revista Referência. Dec 2009, II-series # 11, pp. 117124.
Echinard, Christian and Latarjet, Jacques. 2010. Burns. [Trans.] Leonor Abecassis.
Loures: Lusociência, 2012. ISBN: 978-972-8930-77-6.
Ravat, François, et al. 2010. Burn: an inflammatory disease. [Author] Echinard, Christian
and Latarjet, Jaques. [Trans.] Leonor Abecassis. Burns. Loures: Lusociência, 2012, 19, pp.
37-52. ISBN: 978-972-8930-77-66.
Silva, Rosangela Maria Pereira, et al. 2011. Uso do mel no tratamento de feridas: Contribuição para a prática baseada em evidências. Cadernos de estudos e pesquisas.
jun, 2011, # 33, pp. 41-53. ISSN: 2179-1562.
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