[Hand burns in children and Aquacel(®) Burn gloves, an alternative to prolonged hospital stays].

AIM OF THE STUDY Occlusive dressings for second-degree hand burns in children must prevent infection and promote healing. For good management of analgesia, these treatments often require children to be hospitalized. Our goal was to find an alternative to conventional care protocol that would reduce the number of dressings and therefore the length of hospitalization. We report our experience with the use of Aquacel(®) Burn. PATIENTS AND METHOD Non-randomized monocentric prospective study was conducted from 2012 to 2014. The glove was used in the operating room within 72hours after the burn in children younger than 15 years old with isolated superficial to deep 2nd degree hand burns. Once the glove was perfectly stuck to the burn, the children could go back home. We saw them 10 to 12 days after the accident to be sure there was no indication of skin graft. RESULTS Twenty gloves were used in 16 children aged from 16 months to 13 years. The average length of stay (ALOS) was five days to put the glove on and one day to remove it. Four hands were grafted. CONCLUSION Once we get used to the product, Aquacel(®) Burn gloves have reduced the ALOS before skin graft in cases of isolated hand burns in children.