Clinical effectiveness of an ointment containing prostaglandin E1 for the treatment of burn wounds.

This report discusses the effectiveness of conservative treatment of burns using applications of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) containing ointment (PGE1 ointment) to the wound site. Fourteen patients with superficial dermal burns (SDB), deep dermal burns (DDB) and full-thickness dermal burns (DB), who were treated with repeated applications of this ointment, showed rapid epithelialization of the affected tissue. Hypertrophic scarring after epithelialization was less than that expected after other therapies. The degree of scarring was graded as 'none', 'mild', 'moderate' or 'severe'. The results of this therapy revealed no scarring in two sites (8.7 per cent), mild scarring in 16 sites (69.6 per cent), moderate scarring in one site (4.3 per cent) and severe scarring in four sites (17.4 per cent) out of 23 sites distributed among the patients. The application of PGE1 ointment in combination with skin grafting surgery was found to improve functional and aesthetic results in the patients with DDB and DB, by minimizing the area of the donor site; it was especially useful for children with extensive burns because of the shortage of available tissue as donor site material for skin grafting.