Silversulfadiazine cream treatment results in more wound contraction and more itch in a standardized porcine scald model.

A variety of dressings is available for the treatment of partial thickness wounds but none has strong evidence supporting their beneficial effect on healing. This may be due to variation in the type and depth of wounds in clinical studies. A standardized porcine wound model is therefore used in this study to compare three dressings commonly used in burn centers.Partial thickness scalds were made on the flanks of pigs. Wounds were treated with SSD (flammazine), a hydrofibre dressing or glycerol preserved pig skin. The healing process was monitored for 8 weeks. Macroscopic parameters were the itch behaviour, cosmetic appearance of the scars and contraction. Microscopic parameters were the inflammatory response, myofibroblast influx and the numbers of nerves. All wounds were closed at day 14 and wound infection did not occur. Treatment with SSD resulted in significant more wound contraction compared to treatment with glycerol preserved pig skin. Animals treated with SSD suffered more from itch (scratching) during the first 2 weeks after wounding. The number of nerves in healing wounds of these animals was significantly higher compared to the other 2 groups. We did not observe differences in the inflammatory respons or myofibroblast differentiation. In our standardized porcine partial thickness wound model, treatment with SSD resulted in less favourable wound healing. Compared to treatment with glycerol preserved allogeneic skin, SSD resulted in more contraction. The higher numbers of nerves may indicate that outgrowth of nerves is faster in wounds treated with SSD.