title: Negative pressure dressing assisted healing in pediatric burn patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pediatric burn patients traditionally require multiple dressing changes and significant amounts of narcotics. Negative pressure dressings (NPDs) have emerged as an effective wound therapy that may represent an alternative primary dressing for these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a single institution, retrospective study of pediatric burn patients treated with NPDs over a defined 2 year period. Twenty-two patients were identified and their charts reviewed for age, sex, mode of injury, location of injury, degree of burn, length of stay, length of dressing required, number of dressing changes, and narcotic use between dressing changes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average patient was 3.5 years old (range of 8 months to 10 years old) with partial thickness burns involving 8.5% (range 3-18%) body surface area. The average treatment regimen was 3.5 dressing changes more than 6.6 days, with a mean hospital stay of 9.6 days. The average child received 9.4 total doses of delivered narcotics during their inpatient care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of NPD in pediatric burn patients does require sedation and narcotics which limits its usefulness in the general pediatric burn population. Yet, they adhere well and stay in place even on active children, they capture and quantify fluid losses, they only require changes every 2-4 days and promote the adherence of split thickness skin grafts making them useful in various clinical situations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NPDs are a viable option for both partial and full thickness burns in pediatric patients that do not require transfer to a burn unit. NPDs may be advantageous in highly active children, those with extensive fluid losses, those that require sedation for dressing changes and those that will require grafting.
authors: University of Hawaii - Hawaii Residency Programs, General Surgery, 1356 Lusitana Street Suite 510, Honolulu, HI 96813. Electronic address: smk2@hawaii.edu.
authors: Shannon
authors: S
authors: Koehler
authors: Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, Department of Pediatric Surgery, 1319 Punahou St, Honolulu, HI 96826.
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Jinbo
authors: Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, Department of Pediatric Surgery, 1319 Punahou St, Honolulu, HI 96826.
authors: Sidney
authors: S
authors: Johnson
authors: Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, Department of Pediatric Surgery, 1319 Punahou St, Honolulu, HI 96826.
authors: Devin
authors: D
authors: Puapong
authors: Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, Department of Plastic Surgery, 1319 Punahou St, Honolulu, HI 96826.
authors: Carl
authors: C
authors: de Los Reyes
authors: Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, Department of Pediatric Surgery, 1319 Punahou St, Honolulu, HI 96826.
authors: Russell
authors: R
authors: Woo
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D002056:Burns / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016292:Procedural Sedation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid
keywords: Burn; Negative pressure dressing; Pediatric; Wound vacuum