Burn Injury Caused by Unexpected Explosion of Gunpowder: A Case Report

Burns are a common condition presenting to the emergency room. Most of them are thermal burns. Burn wound healing is a complex process characterized by inflammation, proliferation, repair, and remodeling stages. A Special Burn Care Cream (SBCC) improves burn wound healing. We report a case of burns after a gunpowder explosion. A 36-year-old male patient was transferred to the burn center of a state hospital in Ankara, Turkey, following a gunpowder explosion on his face and neck. He had showed up with a second- to third-degree burn injury, about 14% total body surface area. He presented to our outpatient clinic 5 days later. Twice surgical debridement was performed to treat burn wounds on the face and neck. All the necrotic tissues were removed. Daily, the burn wound beds were cleaned by irrigation of the wound surface with gauze and saline. Then SBCC was applied to the wound area and left open. On the 10th day of treatment, complete recovery was achieved. No adverse effects were recorded. The SBCC increases the healing rate of burn wounds by promoting cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. The cream promotes the proliferation and differentiation of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. In addition to other treatments, the SBCC application may be an alternative treatment approach for closure of burn wounds that have failed to heal with conventional treatments. Prospective and randomized controlled studies are needed to demonstrate the efficacy of SBCC.