Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of America.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2018 Jun 13;13(6):e0197558. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197558. eCollection 2018.
Pressure garment therapy is often prescribed to improve scar properties following full-thickness burn injuries. Pressure garment therapy is generally recommended for long periods of time following injury (1-2 years), though it is plagued by extremely low patient compliance. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of early cessation of pressure garment therapy on scar properties. Full-thickness burn injuries were created along the dorsum of red Duroc pigs. The burn eschar was excised and wound sites autografted with split-thickness skin. Scars were treated with pressure garments within 1 week of injury and pressure was maintained for either 29 weeks (continuous pressure) or for 17 weeks followed by cessation of pressure for an additional 12 weeks (pressure released); scars receiving no treatment served as controls. Scars that underwent pressure garment therapy were significantly smoother and less contracted with decreased scar height compared to control scars at 17 weeks. These benefits were maintained in the continuous pressure group until week 29. In the pressure released group, grafts significantly contracted and became more raised, harder and rougher after the therapy was discontinued. Pressure cessation also resulted in large changes in collagen fiber orientation and increases in collagen fiber thickness. The results suggest that pressure garment therapy effectively improves scar properties following severe burn injury; however, early cessation of the therapy results in substantial loss of these improvements.
压力衣治疗通常用于改善全层烧伤后的疤痕特性。压力衣治疗通常在受伤后（1-2 年）持续很长时间，但患者的依从性极低。本研究旨在探讨早期停止压力衣治疗对疤痕特性的影响。在红色杜洛克猪的背部造成全层烧伤。切除烧伤焦痂，并将伤口用中厚皮片自体移植。在受伤后 1 周内对疤痕进行压力衣治疗，并保持压力 29 周（持续压力）或 17 周，然后停止压力 12 周（压力释放）；未接受治疗的疤痕作为对照。与对照组相比，接受压力衣治疗的疤痕在 17 周时明显更光滑、收缩程度更低，疤痕高度更低。这些益处在持续压力组中一直持续到 29 周。在压力释放组中，治疗停止后，移植物明显收缩，变得更加凸起、坚硬和粗糙。压力停止还导致胶原纤维取向发生大的变化，并增加胶原纤维厚度。结果表明，压力衣治疗可有效改善严重烧伤后的疤痕特性；然而，早期停止治疗会导致这些改善的大量丧失。
