HydroColloid dressing (Duoderm) for the treatment of superficial and deep partial thickness burns

HydroColloid Dressing (Duoderm, HCD) is a new kind of dressing, based on the fact that occlusion can provide an optimum wound environment for quick re-epithelialization. Seventy patients with superficial and deep partial thickness burns of up to 7% TBSA were treated with HCD. In 16 patients a second burned area, similar in size and depth of the burn treated with HCD, was treated with human allografts or silversulfadiazine (SSD). Five patients with very small full thickness burns were also treated with HCD. In three patients (4.5%) the treatment with HCD had to be discontinued before total re-epithelialization had occurred, for various reasons. Statistically, HCD provided faster re-epithelialization than allografts or SSD. The cosmetic and functional results were excellent. After six months only one patient was found to have a small area of hypertrophy. In this study HCD was found to be a very good dressing for the treatment of smaller partial thickness burns.