Effect of Subcutaneous Topical Ozone Therapy on Second-Degree Burn Wounds in Rats: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Burns are one of the most severe traumas, causing coagulative destruction of the skin. The use of various products that accelerate wound healing in patients with burns may affect rates of patient survival and reduce complications. We studied the effects of subcutaneous ozone injection on second-degree burn wounds in an animal model. For this study, 72 Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided randomly into the following three groups: control group, silver sulfadiazine group, and ozone group; each group was then divided randomly into two subgroups (day 7 or day 14 examination and euthanized). Superficial partial-thickness burns were created on the lower back. In the control group, subcutaneous 0.9% serum saline was injected daily into the burn area. In the silver sulfadiazine group, burns were dressed daily with silver sulfadiazine. In the ozone group, subcutaneous ozone was injected daily into the burn area. We performed tissue hydroxyproline level measurements and histopathological evaluations. When groups were compared in terms of weight change, no significant difference was found between day 7 and day 14. With regard to tissue hydroxyproline levels, the ozone group had significantly higher levels on both days 7 and 14 (P < .001). In histopathological evaluations, we determined that wound healing in the ozone group was significantly higher than in the other groups. We found that subcutaneous ozone therapy was more effective than silver sulfadiazine in the healing process of second-degree burn wounds and could be safely used in the treatment of burn wounds.