Ann. Medit. Burns Club - voL 6 - n. 1 - March 1993

THE THERAPEUTIC ACTION OF ALKANIA ROOT EXTRACT IN THE CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT OF PARTIAL-THICKNESS BURN INJURIES

Michaelides C, Striglis C, Panayiotou R, loannovich J.

General State Hospital, Department of Plastic Surgery and Microsurgery, Athens, Greece


SUMMARY. Alkanin and its esters have been known to medical science since ancient times and their healing properties are used in many folk remedies. Helixdenn, an alkania root ointment, was used in order to test its efficiency in the care of partial-thickness burn injuries. A scoring system was established based on the criteria of pain, redness, oedema, bullae, traumatic sepsis and reinfection, and the results were compared to conventional treatment. It was found that in partial-thickness burns Helixderm offered quicker and more comfortable healing and that the surface tissue was smooth and not fragile.

Purpose

The purpose of this clinical research was to study the efficiency and safety of alkania root ointment (Helixderm) in patients with partial-thickness burn injuries.

Introduction

The potent healing properties of alkanin and its esters seem to have been known since very ancient times. These properties were first mentioned in the five-volume book by the Greek physician and philosopher Dioscopides, "De Materia Medica". The properties were used in many folk medicine remedies of the Far East. More specifically, the Japanese and Chinese still today make extensive use of the preparation "Sliiunko" for the healing of burns, wounds and persistent ulcers. The active ingredients of Helixderni, its racemose structure and the esters of the optical antipodes of alkanin and shiconin present a multipotent pharmacological action:

  1. Antimicrobial action anti-Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis
  2. Anti-inflammatory action (more potent than Butazolidin)
  3. Anti-neoplastic action
  4. Healing action.

Material and methods

The study was random and compared Helixderm treatment with conventional conservative treatment. Forty out-patients in the Plastic Surgery Department of the general State Hospital, Athens, were studied. They were selected according to the following criteria:

  • partial-thickness burn injuries, recent (no more than 8 h) limited surface (no more than 10% TBS) adult patients
  • excluding the eye, ear, face and perineum area
  • excluding psychiatric patients, terminally ill patients and patients with other serious disorders
  • compulsory tetanus toxoid
  • excluding electrical burn injuries.

Twenty patients (12 m. and 8 f. from 15-59 years old) were treated with Helixderm and the remaining 20 (10 m. and 10 f. from 22-66 years old) with the usual conservative treatment, Fucidin gauze and Betadine solution. 'The patients' medical history was taken, including all the medicaments used prior to our treatment. A record of simultaneously administered treatment was also kept.
Following treatment, the site of injury was cleaned with water and mild soap and a thin layer of the ointment (about 0.5 min) was applied to the wound. The wound dressing was completed by a regular gauze and bandage. The same procedure was followed for the second group, but Fucidin gauze and Betadine solution were applied instead of Helixderm. Each patient was seen on a regular basis every 2-3 days for a period of 15 days.
During each visit the wound was evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • pain
  • redness
  • oedema
  • bullae
  • traumatic sepsis
  • reinfection.

Evaluation was scored as 0 for absence, 1 for slight, 2 for moderate, 3 for intense, 4 for extremely intense. General observation and tolerance control were performed not only at each examination but also upon completion of treatment.

Results

Neither group presented signs of reinfection. It is worth noting that the group treated with Helixderm showed an accelerated healing rate following the second and third change of dressings, i.e. 3-6 days post-injury.
The acceleration is very well shown on graphs scoring pain, oedema and redness, acting as indirect healing indices, and also on the graph of the general score given each day for all the patients, with all the indices of each group separately.
One common characteristic was the absence of a feeling of tension and itching, which were apparent in almost every patient subjected to the usual conservative treatment.
During the first days in the group treated with Helixderm we noticed increased moisture on the burn surface which soaked the dressings. It was first thought that the yellowish thick-consistency fluid was a sign of infection, but cultures displayed a clean trauma, free of pathogenic bacteria. The fluid disappeared at the next change of dressings, i.e. after 2-3 days, without any changes in the treatment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, without underestimating the therapeutic capability of conventional conservative treatment, we must affirm that the use of HeliAerm on partial-thickness burn injuries offers quicker and more comfortable healing with a smooth and not fragile surface tissue.

RESUME. On connaît depuis l'antiquité l'alcane et ses esters et leurs propriétés sont employées dans beaucoup de remèdes traditionnels. Les auteurs ont utilisé l'Helixderm, une pommade à bas de racine d'alcama, pour vérifier son efficacité dans le traitement des lésions à épaisseur variable dues aux brûlures. Un système de points a été créé, basé sur les critères de douleur, rougeur, oedème, bulles, sepsis traumatique et réinfection, et les résultats ont été confrontés au traitement conventionnel. Les auteurs ont pu montrer que dans les brûlures à épaisseur variable l'Helixderm. offre une guérison plus rapide et plus confortable et que le tissu superficiel est lisse et non fragile.




 

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