Burns improve more rapidly after treatment with fish skin
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- Kerecis manufactures GraftGuide, a fish-skin product made from wild Atlantic cod that is approved in the U.S. and U.K. for treating burns and other wounds.
- John Lantis at Icahn School of Medicine led a study using data from 471 adults across 49 burn centers, comparing GraftGuide to synthetic substitutes in preparing for skin grafts.
- Patients treated with GraftGuide spent an average of 23 days in hospital—12 days less than the 35-day average for those receiving synthetic substitutes.
- Complication rates were twice as high in the synthetic group, with 16% experiencing issues like sepsis versus 8% in the fish-skin group.
- Atlantic cod skin contains collagen and omega-3 fatty acids, which may promote healing by triggering a brief, beneficial inflammatory response before resolving.
- Fiona Wood notes that while results are promising, formal head-to-head trials are still needed to confirm the advantages of fish skin over current standards.
Why it matters: Burn patients could face shorter hospital stays and fewer life-threatening complications if fish skin becomes a standard interim treatment, reducing healthcare costs and improving outcomes. The 12-day reduction in hospitalization represents a significant clinical and economic shift, especially given the global burden of 30,000 daily burn cases requiring medical care.
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