Comparison of open and closed burn wound dressing applications with tissue culture sampling.

BACKGROUND: Secondary infections are the leading cause of death in burn patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of open and closed burn dressings on the development of secondary infections. METHODS: Tissue cultures were obtained from the burn sites of 56 patients between the ages of 18 and 65 who were admitted to our burn unit between December 2022 and January 2023, on days 3 and 7. The impact of the demographic features of the patients, the characteristics of the burn wound, the dressing type, and the first intervention strategies given to the burn wound on the development of wound infection were evaluated. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between the open- and closed-dressing groups in terms of cultural positiv-ity (P>0.05). A statistically significant difference (P=0.019) was found between the groups in terms of culture positivity among those whose wounds were cleansed with warm water as the initial intervention after a burn and those whose wounds were not. CONCLUSION: Even though the main impacts of the patient's variables on the development of a wound infection are recognized, it has been found that the appropriate and successful first intervention in a burn wound is also quite important.

Effects of the Oral Nutritional Supplement Containing Arginine, Glutamine, and Hydroxymethylbutyrate (Abound®) on Healing of Colonic Anastomoses in Rats.

We evaluated the effects of the oral nutritional supplement containing arginine, glutamine, and hydroxymethylbutyrate (Abound®) on healing of colonic anastomoses in experimental rat model. Seventy Wistar-Albino male rats were divided into seven groups. Colon transection and anastomosis were performed in all groups except for the sham group. In groups 2 and 5, rats were fed with standard rat chow after the operation. Oral nutritional supplement was added to standard nutrition for 3 days postoperatively in group 3 and 7 days in group 6 and preoperative 7 days plus postoperative 3 days in group 4 and preoperative 7 days plus postoperative 7 days in group 7. Bursting pressures were measured, adhesions were evaluated, and tissue samples were taken for measurement of tissue hydroxyproline levels and for histopathological examination. The usage of oral nutritional supplement had positive effects on bursting pressures, tissue hydroxyproline levels, and histopathological findings of anastomoses, but feeding with oral nutritional supplement both preoperatively and postoperatively had no additive effect on these parameters when compared with the groups that were fed only postoperatively. The mixture of arginine, glutamine, and hydroxymethylbutyrate may be safely used for achieving better healing results after colonic anastomoses.