Acid Débridement of Burns with Phosphoric-Acid gel

THE introduction of a satisfactory chemical method for the early debridement of burns would simplify a perplexing problem. For many years attempts have been made to find some agent that would selectively digest or remove the necrotic slough that follows severe burning. Since Connor and Harvey1 in 1944 first reported the use of pyruvic-acid starch paste as a suitable agent, few clinical reports have been published on the use of this method of debridement. With a severe burn the open wound is largely responsible for serious electrolytic and protein aberrations resulting from the tremendous loss of serum. The persistence of . . .