Aquacel® Ag with Vaseline gauze in the management of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN)

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a rare condition with potentially high mortality and involves severe exfoliative disease of the skin and mucous membranes induced by drugs. The reported fatality of TEN varies widely from 20% to 60%. The technique for TEN wound coverage described in this article involves the use of various dressings.

Patients and methods

Nine women with histologically confirmed TEN (>30% total body surface area, TBSA) were treated at our burn intensive care unit. All patients received hydrotherapy and wounds were covered with Aquacel® Ag and Vaseline gauzes onlay. Following this, elastic cotton bandage was wrapped around the dressing. The dressing was changed and the wound evaluated twice a week. Efficacy was established by the wound achieving ≥95% re-epithelialisation of the study area.

Results

The mean age was 60.1 years (range from 7 to 88 years). The percentage of body surface area affected by epidermal slough ranged from 30% to 85% TBSA, with a mean of 51%. One patient expired due to severe sepsis on day 3. Eight patients achieved over 95% wound healing. All wounds healed well without the need for skin grafting. However, two of them expired on day 14 and day 20 because of pneumonia and retention of carbon dioxide, respectively. The average duration to achieve 95% wound healing was 10.4 days in eight cases (range from 7 to 14 days). No adverse reactions were noted.

Conclusion

Aquacel® Ag dressing can be easily removed during hydrotherapy. The wound pain is reduced. By changing the dressing just twice a week, we were able to evaluate the wound directly, decrease the odour and increase the quality of life of the patients. In addition, lower frequency of dressing changes decreases the manpower requirements and is cost effective. Use of Aquacel® Ag with Vaseline gauze is a good alternative for the management of TEN wounds.