Banana Leaves as a Wound Dressing for Partial Thickness Second Degree Burns in Adult Patients.

Pilot Study of Banana Leaves as a Primary Wound Dressing for Partial Thickness Burn Wounds

This study plans to look at the benefits of banana leaves as a primary burn wound dressing. Study patients will be compared to historical patients

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Pain; Partial-thickness Burn; Second Degree Burn
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Banana leaf dressing

Detailed Description

Historically, banana leaves have been used as a burn wound dressing in developing countries. Current literature on banana leaf dressings is limited to predominantly pediatric patients and surgical wounds (i.e. skin graft donor sites). The comparison dressing is often other non-standard burn dressings (e.g. boiled potato peel bandage) and these studies are almost exclusively performed in tropical locations where banana plants grow naturally (Africa and Asia). To date, no study on the effectiveness of banana leaf dressings has been done in the United States, nor has there been a focus on their effectiveness in second degree partial thickness burns. Our pilot study aims to establish the feasibility of using banana leaf dressings for second degree partial thickness burn wounds in adult patients, in a geographic location that does not support natural banana agriculture.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Cameron Gibson, MD; Phone Number: 720-848-3251; Email: cameron.2.gibson@cuanschutz.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Colorado
    • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045
      • University of Colorado Hospital
      • Contact: Cameron Gibson, MD; Email: cameron.2.gibson@cuanschutz.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Cameron Gibson, MD
      • Sub-Investigator: Thomas Vogler, MD
      • Sub-Investigator: Arek Wiktor, MD
      • Sub-Investigator: Frederick Endorf, MD
      • Sub-Investigator: Alexandra Halevi, MD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• <10% Total body surface area (TBSA) partial thickness burns
• Patients age 18 to 99
• Primary admission (inpatient) to the UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center
• Burns <48 hours old on admission

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients <18 years
• Patients who are pregnant, incarcerated, or cognitively impaired
• Burns >48 hours old on admission
• Patients with concurrent traumatic injuries
• Patients with chemical, electrical, or friction burns
• Full thickness burns
• Burns to sensitive areas: face, genitals, hands, feet
• Burns with evidence of infection on admission
• Patients with a known allergy to bananas or latex
• Patients with opioid use disorder or methamphetamine use disorder

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Banana leaf dressing; Participants will be treated with banana leaf as a primary non-adherent dressing on their burn wounds	Device: Banana leaf dressing; Sterilized banana leaf as a primary non-adherent burn dressing

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pain scores, as measured using Number Pain Rating Scale	The Numeric Pain Rating Scale is a unidimensional subjective measure of pain intensity in adults, consisting of a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 represents "no pain" and 10 represents "worst pain imaginable" (or "worst possible pain").	Before, during and after each wound care session during hospitalization, approximately 14 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Total use of opioids and benzodiazepines during wound care sessions	Total morphine-milligram equivalent (MME) and milligrams of benzodiazepines used during each wound care session	During hospitalization, approximately 14 days
Time to wound closure	Clinical determination of burn wound closure to be made by study team	During hospitalization or at follow-up in clinic, approximately within 1 month
Skin graft rate	Percentage of patients requiring skin grafting	During hospitalization, approximately 14 days
Burn wound infection rate	Percentage of patients who develop burn wound infection as defined by the American Burn Association	During hospitalization, approximately 14 days
Number of participants with at least one adverse event	Adverse events will only include those that are determined to be related to study device.	End of study (1 year)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient recruitment rate	Average number of monthly patients recruited for the study	End of study (1 year)
Adherence to study intervention	Percentage of times patients enrolled in study received treatment with study intervention	End of study (1 year)
Adherence to pain score documentation	Percentage of properly documented pain scores during wound care sessions	End of study (1 year)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Cameron Gibson, MD, University of Colorado, Denver

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chendake S, Kale T, Manavadaria Y, Motimath AS. Evaluation of Banana Leaves (Musa paradisiaca) as an Alternative Wound Dressing Material Compared to Conventional Petroleum Jelly Gauze Dressing in Contused, Lacerated and Sutured Wounds Over the Head, Neck and Face Region. Cureus. 2021 Oct 6;13(10):e18552. doi: 10.7759/cureus.18552. eCollection 2021 Oct.
• Guenova E, Hoetzenecker W, Kisuze G, Teske A, Heeg P, Voykov B, Hoetzenecker K, Schippert W, Moehrle M. Banana leaves as an alternative wound dressing. Dermatol Surg. 2013 Feb;39(2):290-7. doi: 10.1111/dsu.12067. Epub 2012 Dec 10.
• Srinivas CR, Sundaram VS, Raju BA, Prabhu SK, Thirumurthy M, Bhaskar AC. Achieving asepsis of banana leaves for the management of toxic epidermal necrolysis. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2006 May-Jun;72(3):201-2. doi: 10.4103/0378-6323.25779.
• Gore MA, Akolekar D. Evaluation of banana leaf dressing for partial thickness burn wounds. Burns. 2003 Aug;29(5):487-92. doi: 10.1016/s0305-4179(03)00050-0.
• Gore MA, Akolekar D. Banana leaf dressing for skin graft donor areas. Burns. 2003 Aug;29(5):483-6. doi: 10.1016/s0305-4179(03)00049-4.
• Dharnidharka VR, Kandoth PW. Use of banana leaves in Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Pediatr Dermatol. 1994 Sep;11(3):280-1. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1470.1994.tb00606.x. No abstract available.
• Hop MJ, Polinder S, van der Vlies CH, Middelkoop E, van Baar ME. Costs of burn care: a systematic review. Wound Repair Regen. 2014 Jul-Aug;22(4):436-50. doi: 10.1111/wrr.12189.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 27, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 24, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: 25-2297

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No