title: Three donor site dressings in pediatric split-thickness skin grafts: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For children requiring split-thickness skin grafting for burn injury, the optimum donor site dressing is an ongoing subject of debate. The most common dressings in use, both regionally and worldwide, are calcium alginates. We will compare an alginate with two other dressings, all of which are in current use in the Pegg Leditschke Paediatric Burns Centre (PLPBC), to determine which dressing performs the best.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a randomised, prospective single center parallel three-arm trial comparing three donor site wound (DSW) dressings: Algisite™ M, a calcium alginate dressing; Cuticerin™, a smooth acetate gauze impregnated with water-repellent ointment (petrolatum, paraffin and Eucerite®) and Sorbact®, a gauze mesh coated with a dialkylcarbamoyl chloride (DACC) and amorphous hydrogel. Primary outcomes are days to complete DSW healing, and pain. Previously validated measures will be used for all outcomes. Secondary outcomes are: itch; scar appearance at three, six and 12 months; ease of dressing application and removal and dressing costs and utility. Results will be analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. Donor site thickness will be measured with a small biopsy from the center of the graft, to document the depth of the DSW across the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study will provide comprehensive short- and long-term data on DSW dressings in pediatric split-thickness skin grafting. The best-performing dressing will become the preferred dressing for the PLPBC. We will provide rigorous data against which other dressings can be compared in future, recognising that alginates are the most common DSW dressing currently in use. Our study design replicates a real-world scenario in order to identify clinically significant differences between the three dressings.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  This trial was prospectively registered on 8 April 2014 with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (identifier: ACTRN12614000380695 ).
authors.affiliation: Pegg Leditschke Paediatric Burns Centre, Department of Paediatric Surgery, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101, Australia. cmcbride@paedsurgery.com.|Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research, Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, 300 Herston Road, Brisbane, QLD, 4029, Australia. cmcbride@paedsurgery.com.|Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Queensland, Level 7, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101, Australia. cmcbride@paedsurgery.com.
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.affiliation: Pegg Leditschke Paediatric Burns Centre, Department of Paediatric Surgery, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101, Australia. royk@mailbox.uq.edu.au.|Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research, Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, 300 Herston Road, Brisbane, QLD, 4029, Australia. royk@mailbox.uq.edu.au.|Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Queensland, Level 7, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101, Australia. royk@mailbox.uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Roy M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Kimble
authors.affiliation: Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research, Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, 300 Herston Road, Brisbane, QLD, 4029, Australia. k.stockton@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Kellie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stockton
mesh_terms: D001458:Bandages; D002056:Burns / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018401:Sample Size; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D014945:Wound Healing