2023, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (7): 1141-1148

Effects of different dressings in the treatment of burn wounds: a network meta-analysis

Li Wenjie1, You Aijia1, Zhou Junli1, Fang Sujuan2, Li Chun1   

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: There are a variety of external dressings for treating burn, but which one is better than others has not been confirmed by evidence-based research. This article evaluated the efficacy of eleven dressings in treating burn wounds by network meta-analysis.
METHODS: Computer search was conducted on CNKI, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, VIP Database, CBM, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. The search time was from the database establishment to August 2021. The randomized controlled clinical trials of different dressings for treating burn wounds were included. The literature was screened and extracted, and the software RevMan 5.4 and Stata 14.2 were used to evaluate the literature quality and analyze the data.
RESULTS: A total of 32 clinical randomized controlled trials involving 3 795 burn patients and 11 kinds of dressings were included. The results of the network meta-analysis showed that (1) in terms of shortening burn wound healing time, which ranked as follows from good to bad: recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor > platelet-rich plasma > aloe vera gel > fibroblast growth factor > silver ion dressing > amnion > recombinant human epidermal growth factor > honey dressing > traditional dressings > silver sulfadiazine cream > porcine xenograft dressings. (2) In terms of controlling the burn wound infection rate, which ranked as follows from good to bad: honey dressing > porcine xenograft dressings > silver ion dressing > aloe vera gel > silver sulfadiazine cream > platelet-rich plasma > traditional dressings.
CONCLUSION: The recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor had the best overall effect on shortening the healing time of burn wound, and the honey dressing had the best overall effect on controlling the infection rate of burn wound. However, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to further confirm this point in the future.
Key words: burns, dressing, randomized controlled trial, network meta-analysis, recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, honey dressing