The Effects of an Enzymatic Hydrogel on 3rd Degree Burn Wounds in a Porcine Model

Serious burn injuries result in total loss of skin surfaces that can lead to subsequent infections and delayed healing.1 Patients with unexcised full thickness burns have an increased risk of developing an invasive infection. 2

Enzymatic and surgical debridement are common procedures for removing necrotic tissue to help reduce bacteria levels and accelerate wound repair.3 Maggot debridement therapy has been used for centuries as an effective option for many wound types.4 A new Enzymatic Hydrogel Solution (EHS)* has been developed that uses an enzyme cloned from medical maggots.

The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of this enzymatic hydrogel to enhance healing and reduce bacterial load in a porcine model.5 Twenty-four (24) 3rd degree burn wounds measuring 27mm in diameter were created. Six wounds were assigned to four treatment groups: A – EHS Concentration x5, B – EHS Concentration x50, C - Vehicle Solution and D - Untreated Control. After treatment application, all wounds were covered with Dressing Gauze Vaseline Petrolatum (Covidien LLC, Mansfield, MA) and sterile gauze, treatments were applied daily.

Wounds were biopsied for healing and microbiology counts. The EHS Concentration x50* had higher bacterial reduction on both assessment days with 80.5 and 89.93 percentage of reduction compared with untreated wounds. Both EHS concentrations showed enhance the healing compared untreated wounds, with the lowest concentration (x5) showing the highest percent of re-epithelialization on Day 8.

This treatment also had the highest scores for both granulation tissue formation and angiogenesis. Additional animals are to substantiate these findings which may have important clinical implications. Auraseâ SolasCure Limited, Nantgarw, Cardiff, Wales