A Silver Impregnated Antimicrobial Dressing Reduces Hospital Length of Stay for Pediatric Patients With Burns

We sought to study whether the application of a novel silver impregnated antimicrobial dressing (Aquacel Ag, ConvaTec, Princeton, NJ) affects the hospital length of stay in pediatric patients with partial-thickness burns. A retrospective review of Burn Registry Data from a large children's hospital burn unit was conducted to answer this question. Pediatric patients admitted with partial-thickness burns treated with Aquacel Ag from January 2005 through August 2005 were included in the study (n = 39). The comparison group of patients treated with silver sulfadiazine (SSD; Par Pharmeceuticals, Woodcliff, NJ) cream was matched for age and %TBSA burned from the same time period the previous year (n = 40). Analysis was conducted for intent to treat. Mean length of stay for control patients treated with SSD was significantly longer (8.36 days) compared with Aquacel Ag-treated patients (4.48 days; p = .002, t-test for unequal variances). Length of stay for both groups was significantly associated with %TBSA burned (p < .001, r2 = .38). Post-hoc analysis controlling for %TBSA burned revealed an adjusted mean length of stay for the control group that was longer than that of the Aquacel Ag group (5.9 days vs. 3.8 days, respectively). These data confirm that application of a new burn dressing (Aquacel Ag) reduces hospital length of stay. Reduction in the complexity and number of dressing changes needed with use of Aquacel Ag, in combination with significantly reduced length of stay, should result in a significant cost savings in the care of this patient population.