Effect of collagenase ointment versus silver sulfadiazine ointment on the healing of deep second-degree burns: a prospective randomised study

Objective: To compare the effect of collagenase ointment (CO) versus silver sulfadiazine (SSD) ointment on the healing of deep second-degree burns. Method: In this single-centre, randomised controlled study, patients from an outpatient service between June 2021 and January 2022 were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to receive burn wound treatment with either CO or SSD for 21 days. The primary outcome was the time to wound healing at the end of the study period. Secondary outcomes were: wound infection; wound inflammation; debridement rate of wound necrosis; time of necrotic tissue removal; and pain. Results: A total of 66 patients were enrolled in the study. The total wound healing time was comparable in the two groups, with a median of 10 days in both groups (Interquartile range: 7–14 days (SSD group) and 7–10 days (CO group); p=0.672). For the CO and SSD groups, re-epithelialisation rates (92.8% versus 89.5%, respectively) and debridement rates of wound necrosis (93.9% versus 90.8%, respectively) were comparable (p>0.05). Median time to wound necrotic tissue removal in the SSD group was significantly longer than that in the CO group (nine days versus two days, respectively; p=0.001). The inflammation score was slightly lower in the CO group than in the SSD group (p=0.043). No adverse events occurred during the study period. Conclusion: In this study, both CO and SSD showed good effects on the healing of deep second-degree burn wounds. CO significantly shortened the time of necrotic tissue removal from the wound surface.