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- Olive (Olea europaea, Oleaceae) Oil
- Alkanet (Alkanna tinctoria, Boraginaceae)
- Beeswax (Cera Alba)
- Burn Injuries
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Date:
06-15-2018 | HC# 111752-594
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Re: Efficacy of a Mixture of Beeswax, Olive Oil, and Alkanet for Burn Injuries
Gümüş
K, Özlü ZK. The effect of a beeswax, olive oil and Alkanna tinctoria (L.) Tausch mixture on burn injuries: An
experimental study with a control group. Complement
Ther Med. 2017;34:66-73.
Severe
burns have high rates of morbidity and mortality and require long-term
hospitalization. Such burns cause intense pain and can lead to significant
changes in physical appearance. In folk medicine, beeswax (cera alba), olive (Olea
europaea, Oleaceae) fruit oil, and alkanet (Alkanna tinctoria,
Boraginaceae) root are used to treat burns. Beeswax and olive oil have reported
antioxidant and antibacterial activity, while alkanet has reported antimicrobial
activity. According to the authors, no studies with scientific rigor have been
conducted that evaluate these treatments. The purpose of this controlled study was
to evaluate the effect of a mixture of beeswax, olive oil, and alkanet on burn healing,
pain during dressing changes, and duration of hospital stay. The study was not conducted
as a randomized, controlled study "because the hospital stays of the patients
were not the same, patient rooms in the clinic could not be separated and the
wound dressing room could be seen by all patients."
Patients
(n = 73; mean age, 6.68 years in the experimental group and 5.52 years in the
control group) with second-degree burns on the extremities participated in the study
conducted between May 2014 and August 2015 at the burn unit of Atatürk
University Hospital; Erzurum, Turkey. Patients were sequentially enrolled upon
admission to the burn unit. Included patients were > 3 years old and < 65
years old, had noninfected burns, had no chronic diseases, had burns other than
chemical and electrical burns with certain borders, and had not undergone a
surgical procedure that could affect healing.
The
experimental group was treated with a sterilized mixture of 1000 mL medical olive
oil, 30 g beeswax, and 50 g alkanet, which was mixed especially for the study. The
quantity of mixture used was in proportion to the size of the injury. The
control group was treated with a standard therapy of nitrofurazone, rifamycin,
and irrigation.
After
cleaning the surface of all injuries with 0.09 NaCl and 0.010 Savlon®,
the injuries were photographed before the wounds were dressed. In the burn unit, the
dressing was changed daily (as done in folk medicine) in the experimental group
and every 2 days in the control group (in accordance with hospital policy and
routine clinical practice). A wound culture was taken the third day after the
burn occurred. When the size of the burn was less than 1 mm, treatment was
terminated and the patient was discharged. A visual analogue scale and facial
expression scale were used to evaluate intensity of pain. Visualization and
evaluation are standard methods of evaluation of burn injuries; accordingly, the
injuries were photographed for evaluation. The starting time of epithelialization,
hospitalization duration, and mean pain scores during dressing changes were
recorded.
Baseline
characteristics were similar between groups (P > 0.05 for all). Most of the
injuries were caused by boiling liquids, and the patients were admitted to the
hospital within the first 24 h after injury. No infections occurred in the
experimental group, while 6.1% of the control group got an infection. Epithelialization
started significantly earlier in the experimental group than in the control
group (3.0 vs. 6.9 days, respectively; P < 0.001). Mean pain scores were significantly
lower in the experimental group than in the control group (8.12 vs. 9.39,
respectively; P < 0.001). Mean hospitalization duration was significantly shorter
in the experimental group than in the control group (8.22 vs. 14.42 days,
respectively; P < 0.001).
The
authors conclude that epithelialization in the experimental group started very
quickly, which corresponds with the shorter hospitalization duration. This
finding supports previous in vivo studies. A limitation of the study was that a
decrease in narcotic use was not evaluated. So, it is unknown whether the
improvement in pain would be enough to decrease the use of pharmaceutical
painkillers. Other limitations were that the study was not blinded, and the
control and experimental groups had different times of dressing changes (i.e.,
daily vs. every 2 days). Therefore, it is unknown whether the effect of daily
dressing improved wound healing independent of the therapy applied.
Nonetheless, the authors conclude that the experimental treatment "accelerated
the process of epithelialization, reduced hospitalization durations, reduced the
levels of pain experienced by the patients during dressing and completely
prevented wound site infections in the experimental group." These results
suggest that this mixture may be an effective burn treatment. However, future
studies should include a larger population, an older population, other burn
types, and have both groups' wounds handled similarly.
The
authors declare that they have legally equal ownership rights (right ownership
of 50%) of the product (patent pending).
—Heather S. Oliff,
PhD
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