Topical application of epidermal growth factor onto partial-thickness wounds in human volunteers does not enhance reepithelialization.

Recent reports have suggested that human epidermal growth factor will accelerate the healing of corneal wounds and donor sites of burned patients undergoing split-thickness skin grafts. In one report using human epidermal growth factor in a silver sulfadiazine cream, these data were gathered from patients of various ages who had various depths of donor sites and degrees of burn. Therefore, despite the fact that these data were prospective, randomized, and double-blinded, we questioned the validity of the study. To test the hypothesis that topical application of human epidermal growth factor will enhance the healing of partial-thickness wounds, we utilized healthy volunteers (n = 17) and created bilateral split-thickness skin wounds (4 cm2) of the same depth (0.014 in) on each flank and then studied time until total epithelialization occurred. One side was treated with silver sulfadiazine as a control and the opposite side with silver sulfadiazine and human epidermal growth factor. There was no significant difference in the healing times between the human epidermal growth factor-treated sites and the silver sulfadiazine cream controls.