CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A new burn gel could enhance treatment and recovery of burn victims and it could also change the way patients are cared for on the scene of medical emergencies.
In the United States, over 500,000 people require treatment for burn injuries and serious skin wounds each year. Burn injuries represent over 60% of all hospital admissions for immediate care, according to the American Burn Association.
MUSC Burn Center and MUSC Zucker Institute have announced they’re partnering with Chitozan Health to develop advanced antimicrobial burn and wound gels.
MUSC Chief of Burn Surgery Steven Kahn said the gel will kill bacteria but protect the body’s normal cells. He added advanced novel molecules synthesized at MUSC combined with silver Chitozan that’s made by Chitozan Health to make this new gel.
“The part about a burn injury is that it hurts so it’s important to put something on the wound with soothing people that doesn’t cause any more pain,” Kahn said.
It will be applied over the entire burn surface which creates a barrier to protect the affected area from further damage due to debris or infection.
Battalion Chief Medical Coordinator Julie McCabe said it’s most common for them to get called to incidents with pediatric burns.
“A lot of times when we get called from a 911 perspective, they are severe burns,” Charleston Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Medical Coordinator Julie McCabe said.
But right now their protocol doesn’t call for anything like this gel.
“We don’t use any type of ointments or creams on our burns. It’s keeping it as clean as we can, wrapping it in those clean dressings and getting them to the hospital,” McCabe said.
But Dr. Khan said that could change with the help of this new gel.
“The goal would be to allow the gel to be utilized on patients in a variety of settings. Whether in stores, hospitals, clinics, most importantly on the scene for first responders both civilian and military,” Kahn said.
The gel is in pre-clinical testing, which means that they’re not testing on humans. Dr. Khan said they’re looking at how it kills bacteria and how it interacts with cells and culture.
“This burn gel will be able to be used on all different types of burns that are sustained whether it’s from a flame of a skull, a chemical of friction burn a rash and also for second and third-degree burns,” Kahn said.
The burn gel is set to hit the market in 2026 and Dr. Khan says it won’t just help with medical needs, some of the profits will help the community and burn victims directly.
“It’s all South Carolina companies and all of it’s going to be coming back to the local area, we also plan to give a portion of it to local charities to support burn care and people who have suffered burn care in their families.”
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New burn gel could change how patients are treated on scene for emergencies
