Effect of honey and povidone-iodine on acute laceration wound healing: a pilot randomised controlled trial study.

OBJECTIVE: Acute laceration wound (ALW) is one of the most common injuries in Indonesia with potential significant morbidities. In rural areas, povidone-iodine and honey are commonly used as wound dressings. This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of honey compared to paraffin gauze and the commonly used povidone-iodine in improving ALW healing time. METHOD: This study was a single-blind, pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) with three intervention groups (honey, povidone-iodine, and paraffin). The outcomes were wound healing time, slow healing, secondary healing, signs of infection, wound dehiscence, oedema, maceration, necrosis, exudate and cost. RESULTS: A total of 35 patients (male to female ratio: 4:1), with a mean age of 22.5 (range: 6-47) years, were included and randomised to treatment groups using predetermined randomisation according to wound location and wound dressing selection: honey group, n=12; povidone-iodine group, n=11; paraffin group, n=12 with one patient lost to follow-up. All groups achieved timely healing, with a mean healing time of 9.45±5.31 days and 11.09±5.14 days for the povidone-iodine and paraffin groups, respectively, and a median healing time of 10 (3-19) days for the honey group (p>0.05). More wounds in the honey group achieved healing in ≤10 days compared with the other groups. Both povidone-iodine and honey groups had fewer adverse events, with the latter having the lowest cost. CONCLUSION: In this study, honey was clinically effective in accelerating healing time with a lower cost compared to paraffin, and was comparable to povidone-iodine. Future RCTs with a larger sample size should be pursued to determine honey's role in ALW treatment.

The characteristics of private plastic surgery practice in developing country: An epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND: With the rise in working-age population, there has been notable economic growth in Indonesia. Along with it, there is an increase in expenditure for non-food items such as health-care service, without exception to plastic surgery practice. Aesthetic plastic surgery practice has gained its popularity in several other developing countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. Epidemiology report of private plastic surgery practice in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, will provide the evidence of increasing need for aesthetic plastic surgery practices as the basis for further improvement. METHODS: This is a single-centre descriptive cross-sectional study with a total sampling method which included all patients registered at a private plastic surgery clinic between January 2008 and December 2016. RESULTS: There were 1457 medical procedures. The majority (93.4%) of patients were female. More than 80% were surgical procedures, the most common ones were breast implant and blepharoplasty with the latter being similarly popular in both gender. The majority of the patients fell into 20-45-year-old group. Patients <20-year-old had undergone a more minor surgical procedure such as skin tumour and nevus excision or scar treatment while patients >45-year-old had more procedures with rejuvenation purpose. CONCLUSION: The epidemiology of private plastic surgery practice in an urban area of developing country resembles those in either developed or developing countries with a similar socio-demographic profile. This data can be further utilised for a more focused private plastic surgery practice improvement. The limitation however is that, the study is based on a single centre data.

The treatment challenges and limitation in high-voltage pediatric electrical burn at rural area: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Although rare, electrical injury in pediatrics is potentially life threatening and has significant and long-term impact in life. It is challenging to manage such cases in rural areas. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A fully conscious 13-year-old boy was admitted to the emergency room after being electrocuted by high-voltage power cable, with superficial partial thickness burn over right arm, trunk, and left leg (26 % of total body surface area). Tachycardia and non-specific ST depression was found on ECG examination and was diagnosed with high-voltage electrical injury. Treatments were based on ANZBA algorithm with several modifications, i.e., administering lower concentration of oxygen with nasal cannula instead of non-rebreathing mask as well as Ketorolac and Antrain® for analgesic instead of morphine. DISCUSSION: Different choices of treatments were given due to limited resources. Despite possible cardiac and renal complication, further tests could not be done. Fortunately, after strict monitoring, no signs of abnormality were found. We used silver sulfadiazine, Sofratulle® and dry sterile gauze as a dressing of choice following immediate surgical debridement. The patient was observed daily through 7 days of hospitalization and followed-up for 1 year, achieving normal physiologic function of the affected area but unsatisfactory esthetic result. CONCLUSION: Lack of infrastructure, drugs, and trained personnel are some of the challenges that still exist in most rural areas. Thus, implementation of available standardized guidelines such as ANZBA, and giving similar training to personnel as well as providing feasible equipment followed by strict monitoring for the patient are needed to achieve maximum results.