Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery Medknow Publications on behalf of Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery ISSN: 0970-0358 EISSN: 1998-376x Vol. 43, Num. 1, 2010, pp. 119-119

Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery, Vol. 43, No. 1, January-June, 2010, pp. 119

Letter To Editor

Honey vs. silver sulphadiazine

Viroj Wiwanitkit

Wiwanitkit House, Bangkhae, Bangkok, Thailand

Correspondence Address: Viroj Wiwanitkit, Wiwanitkit House, Bangkhae, Bangkok, Thailand - 10160, wviroj@yahoo.com

Code Number: pl10033

DOI: 10.4103/0970-0358.63947

Sir,

I read the recent publication by Baghel et al. on wound healing in burn patients with great interest. ^[1] Bahgel et al. concluded that "Honey dressing improves wound healing, makes the wound sterile in lesser time, has a better outcome in terms of prevention of hypertrophic scarring and post-burn contractures, and decreases the need of debridement irrespective of time of admission, when compared to SSD dressing". ^[1] Indeed, several reports confirm the possibility of using honey dressing for burn patients. ^[2],[3] However, according to the meta-analysis, it is shown that "Honey dressings as an adjuvant to compression do not significantly increase leg ulcer healing at 12 weeks. There is insufficient evidence to guide clinical practice in other areas". ^[3] The main flaw of the report by Baghel et al. is the lack of a matched control group in the study. ^[1] In addition, an important problem to be concerned is the sterility of the honey. The contamination of Clostridium should not be overlooked. ^[4]

References

1.	Baghel PS, Shukla S, Mathur RK, Randa R. A comparative study to evaluate the effect of honey dressing and silver sulfadiazene dressing on wound healing in burn patients. Indian J Plast Surg 2009;42:176-81.  Back to cited text no. 1  [PUBMED]
2.	Wijesinghe M, Weatherall M, Perrin K, Beasley R. Honey in the treatment of burns: A systematic review and meta-analysis of its efficacy. N Z Med J 2009;122:47-60.   Back to cited text no. 2
3.	Jull AB, Rodgers A, Walker N. Honey as a topical treatment for wounds. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2008;8:CD005083.  Back to cited text no. 3
4.	Bogdanov S, Jurendic T, Sieber R, Gallmann P. Honey for nutrition and health: A review. J Am Coll Nutr 2008;27:677-89.  Back to cited text no. 4  [PUBMED]  [FULLTEXT]

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