BACTERIAL NANOCELLULOSE DRESSING COMPARED WITH HYDROCOLLOID DRESSING FOR THE TREATMENT OF PARTIAL-THICKNESS SECOND-DEGREE BURNS: A PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL.

The management of burn wounds is a major challenge throughout the globe. Superficial and partial-thickness burns generally do not need any surgical intervention, however, severe cases of burn injury require dressings (antimicrobial) and surgery in the worst-case scenario. The present study was conducted to assess the efficacy of bacterial nanocellulose dressing versus hydrocolloid dressing. All patients presenting with partial-thickness second-degree burns from June 2021 to May 2022 were screened for this randomized control trial; 65 burn patients were included in each group of this trial. The control group of patients was treated with hydrocolloid dressing and the experimental group with bacterial nanocellulose dressing sheets. Every third day, the wound was assessed. Other data collected included age, sex, %TBSA burned, signs of infection, time for epithelialization, and length of hospital stay. Statistical analyses were performed to see the significance of differences between the treatment groups by adjusting for size and depth of burn, and the patient's age. There were 130 patients (65 in each group). The median age for the whole group was 17.4 years, and 51.53% (n=67) were males. The average TBSA was 22.4%, with a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 31%. Eleven of the patients had their burns excised, and four were given skin grafts in the control group. In the case of the experimental group, four excisions were performed, and one skin graft. Wound-related pain scores were low (mean of 2.6) for the bacterial nanocellulose group and higher for the hydrocolloid group. Hydrocolloid dressing is more cost effective than bacterial nanocellulose dressing. However, the pain scores were high, and healing time was less in the bacterial nanocellulose group. Moreover, the hydrocolloid group is more prone to infection due to frequent dressing changes.