Danise PD Coelho

Conference 2023 Presentation

Project title

Analysis of the use and effectiveness of tilapia skin in the treatment of burns: an integrative review

Authors and Affiliations

Danise Paula Dias Coelho1, Lidiane Gomes Bandeira2, Thaisa Dias da Silva3, Rafaela Ferreira Melli4

1. University of Rio Verde – Campus Aparecida (UniRV), Aparecida de Goiânia-GO, Brazil
2. Federal University of Pernambuco – Campus Agreste, Caruaru- PE, Brazil
3. State University of Ponta Grossa – Campus Uvaranas, Ponta Grosso-PR, Brazil
4. Athens University Center- Paracatu, MG, Brazil

Abstract

Background

The skin of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) has been widely studied for the treatment of burn patients and is shown to be a good option for dressing wounds. A growing number of these studies bring a wide possibility of using this xenograft due to its biocompatibility characteristics, early healing potential and cost-effectiveness. We analyze the effectiveness of tilapia skin in the therapeutic approach to burns.

Methods

This is an integrative literature review, using the PubMed database, using the descriptors “Burns ”; “Tilapia”, joined by the Boolean operator “AND”. 25 articles resulted, and 14 were included in the present study. As inclusion criteria, we chose articles with an observational and/or experimental design, published in the last 5 years, in Portuguese and English. The exclusion criteria used were articles published more than 5 years ago, duplicated and outside the proposed theme.

Results

The analyzes showed that Nile tilapia skin, when adhered to the wound, can act as a flexible and conformable xenograft, without antigenicity and toxicity, and as a barrier to microorganisms, which favors healing. The observed clinical trials elucidated these benefits by showing that the control groups, when compared to the placebo groups, required fewer days for reepithelialization, as well as having decreased analgesic and anxiolytic needs confirmed by the visual analogue scale, Scale of Anxiety of Specific Burn Pain and electronic von Frey measurements. Regarding the technique used to obtain tilapia skin, it is observed that lyophilization, which involves the freezing and sublimation phase in the dehydration process, compared with glycerolization, allows the prolonged storage of sterile tissue. Furthermore, as no side effects were observed in any of the patients, the biomaterial also proved to be safe for human use, in addition to being a costeffective treatment.

Conclusions

Tilapia skin is an efficient alternative for the treatment of burns, and shares the same characteristics of an ideal bandage, such as biocompatibility, early healing potential, and reduction of infection. However, as it is a modern treatment, it still requires further studies of its effects in order to establish it in the daily clinical practice of burn care.