Development of multicentre Burn Platform adaptive Trials team

Burn injuries are common and cause painful scarring that can result in psychological distress. It is a priority for both Burn Survivors and burn care providers to find ways to reduce the scarring. Until now there has been little research on what is the best anti-scar treatment (AST). Currently the treatments for scars are either painful injections into the scar or the use of uncomfortable and itchy compression garments and silicone gel sheets. Two main challenges to find the best AST are: i) the lack of clear ways of measuring the scar and ii) not enough people at each burn centre to study. We propose to overcome these obstacles by bringing together burn survivors, caregivers and researchers from across Canada. Once promising AST are identified this group will design and conduct trials comparing different AST at multiple burn units in Canada. This will allow us to study a large number of participants in a variety of settings to find the best AST and which people it works best in. These studies will also provide important information on how burn scars change, and the differences between the sexes as they heal. By building the infrastructure evaluating AST in this way we will also create a foundation for Canada to be a world leader in evaluating scar treatments and provide an excellent learning environment for trainees and new investigators. This project has the potential to significantly improve care and quality of life for burn survivors in Canada.