Best evidence topic report. Silver sulphadiazine cream in burns.

A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether silver sulphadiazine cream is better than normal dressing in promoting healing without infection. A total of 410 papers were found using the reported searches, of which 12 showed the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. It is concluded that although there is evidence of antibacterial effect, there is no direct evidence of improved healing or reduced infection.