Comparison of silver sulphadiazine and paraffin gauze dressings in the treatment of fingertip amputations

Abstract

Fingertip amputations are common injuries presenting to the accident and emergency department and are usually treated conservatively. We compared silver sulphadiazine occlusive dressing to the traditional paraffin gauze compressive dressing in the management of these injuries over a 6 month period. The use of silver sulphadiazine dressing in fingertip amputations led to a more comfortable dressing change when compared with the paraffin gauze dressing. Although the fingertip amputations within the silver sulphadiazine group took longer to heal, on clinical assessment they had a significantly greater finger length preserved at the end of the trial.