Abstract
Wound care in one of the most important prognostic factors in burn victims. Open wound carries risks for infection due to hypothermia, protein and fluid losses. In addition, unhealed wounds are the major risk factors for acute-subacute or chronic complications in burn patients. Although no exact algorithm exists for open wound treat ment, early escarectomy or debridement together with grafting is the best option. Ointments together with topical epithelizing agents without dressings are genereally adequate for first-degree burns. However, topical antibacterial agents are usually required for sec ond to third-degree wounds. Standart treatment for the open wound without epithelization is autologous skin grafting. In cases where more than 50% of the skin surface in affected, autologus donor skin may not be enough. For these cases, epidermal cell cul ture in vitro may be used. Mesenchymal stem cell applications which have immunosupressive effects should be utilized in cases where cells need to be prepared as allografts.
Keywords: Wound care, burn
Copyright and license
Copyright © 2011 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.