Effect of silicone gel versus Contractubex or corticosteroid phonophoresis for post-burn hypertrophic scars: a single-blind randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction

Hypertrophic scars and keloids are physically and mentally disturbing, and can cause pain and itching. Various treatment is utilized to diminish or counteract scarring. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of silicone gel, Contractubex gel, and corticosteroid phonophoresis for post-burn hypertrophic scars.

Methods

A prospective, single-blind, randomized, controlled study with pretest-posttest design was performed; 45 patients aged 20–45 years with hypertrophic scars, 2–4 months post thermal burn were involved. They were randomly assigned to 3 groups: group A (15 patients, 8 males and 7 females) received phonophoresis with silicone gel, group B (15 patients, 8 males and 7 females) received phonophoresis with Contractubex gel, and group C (15 patients, 9 males and 6 females) received corticosteroid phonophoresis. All treatment interventions were applied at the frequency of 3 sessions/week for 24 weeks. The participants were recruited from the Kasr El-Ani hospital outpatient clinic to be treated in the outpatient clinic, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University.

Results

Outcome measures were taken with the modified Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) before the treatment, and 12 and 24 weeks after the intervention. The comparison among the 3 groups revealed a highly significant decrease in modified VSS total score in group A compared with group B and group C (p < 0.01), as well as in group B compared with group C (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Silicone gel phonophoresis is a more effective method for post-burn hypertrophic scar management than Contractubex gel phonophoresis or corticosteroid phonophoresis.