COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STRIPED CATFISH SKIN, NILE TILAPIA SKIN, AND PORCINE SKIN AS A XENOGRAFT MATERIAL FOR BURN WOUND.

Burn injury remains a health problem, specifically in Indonesia. In major burns, xenograft has been proved to be useful as temporary wound coverage. However, some xenografts are not widely available due to cultural, financial and religious backgrounds, or have an unesthetic appearance, such as the scaly appearance of tilapia fish xenograft. Striped catfish () is a scaleless fish that has abundant type 1 collagen. This study aimed to compare striped catfish skin to commonly used xenograft (Nile tilapia and porcine skin) as xenograft material for burn wound. In this experimental study, nine different skin samples of striped catfish, Nile tilapia and porcine were prepared and histologically examined using hematoxylin-eosin stained samples. Macroscopic and microscopic features of each sample were documented and analysed. The macroscopic skin appearances of striped catfish were hairless and scaleless with black-silver color and moderate thickness. As for microscopic features, the epidermal thickness of striped catfish skin (8.49±1.60 μm) was significantly different to both Nile tilapia (2.18±0.37 μm; p<0.001) and porcine skin (42.22±14.85 μm; p=0.002). The dermal thickness of striped catfish skin (288.46±119.04 μm) was similar to Nile tilapia (210.68±46.62 μm; p=0.783) but differs significantly to porcine skin (1708.44±505.12 μm; p<0.001). The integrity and collagen organization of striped catfish was also similar to tilapia based on semi-quantitative histology scoring system (p>0.05). Striped catfish had potential macroscopic appearance and comparable microscopic features to Nile tilapia; smoother macroscopic appearance, thicker epidermis, and similar dermis thickness. Therefore, we believe it can be potentially used as a xenograft material. Further studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of striped catfish xenograft in burn wound management.