Efficacy of moist exposed burn ointment on burns

In this study, we sought to test the medical efficacy of a Chinese medical herb product, moist exposed burn ointment (MEBO), on wound healing rate and infection control in burn injury. Standardized deep burn wounds were created on the back skin of rats by applying a hot brass bar for 12 to 18 seconds. MEBO was applied four times per day and compared with petroleum jelly, silver sulfadiazine, and dry exposure therapy. Under such a controlled setting, although MEBO had a better wound healing rate than the dry exposure treatment, it did not show the medical advantage statistically, as has been claimed, over the other two treatments (P > .05), either in terms of wound healing rate or bacterial control. We conclude that the MEBO is not suitable for deep burn wound treatment, particularly when infection is a concern.