Mafenide ( INN; usually as mafenide

acetate An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called ...

, trade name Sulfamylon) is a

sulfonamide In organic chemistry, the sulfonamide functional group (also spelled sulphonamide) is an organosulfur group with the structure . It consists of a sulfonyl group () connected to an amine group (). Relatively speaking this group is unreactive. ...

-type medication used as an antibiotic. It was approved by the FDA in 1948.

Uses

Mafenide is used to treat severe burns. It is used topically as an adjunctive therapy for second- and third-degree burns. It is

bacteriostatic A bacteriostatic agent or bacteriostat, abbreviated Bstatic, is a biological or chemical agent that stops bacteria from reproducing, while not necessarily killing them otherwise. Depending on their application, bacteriostatic antibiotics, disinfect ...

against many gram-positive and gram-negative organisms, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Some sources state that mafenide is more appropriate for non-facial burns, while

chloramphenicol Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. This includes use as an eye ointment to treat conjunctivitis. By mouth or by injection into a vein, it is used to treat meningitis, plague, chole ...

prednisolone Prednisolone is a steroid medication used to treat certain types of allergies, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorders, and cancers. Some of these conditions include adrenocortical insufficiency, high blood calcium, rheumatoid arth ...

bacitracin Bacitracin is a polypeptide antibiotic. It is a mixture of related cyclic peptides produced by ''Bacillus licheniformis'' bacteria, that was first isolated from the variety "Tracy I" ( ATCC 10716) in 1945. These peptides disrupt Gram-positive bac ...

are more appropriate for facial burns.

Mechanism of action

Mafenide works by reducing the bacterial population present in the avascular tissues of burns and permits spontaneous healing of deep partial-thickness burns.

Adverse reactions

Adverse reactions can include superinfection, pain or burning upon application, rash, pruritus, tachypnea, or hyperventilation. Mafenide is metabolized to a

carbonic anhydrase inhibitor Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors are a class of pharmaceuticals that suppress the activity of carbonic anhydrase. Their clinical use has been established as anti-glaucoma agents, diuretics, antiepileptics, in the management of mountain sickness, g ...

, which could potentially result in metabolic acidosis.

Drug interactions

There are no significant interactions.

Contraindications

Mafenide is contraindicated in those with sulfonamide hypersensitivity or renal impairment.

Dosage

For use as adjunctive therapy for second- and third-degree burns to prevent infection, adults and children should apply topically to a thickness of approximately 1.6 mm to cleaned and debrided wound once or twice per day with a sterile gloved hand. The burned area should be covered with cream at all times.

References

External links

Mafenide information on RxList
{{SulfonamideAntiBiotics Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors Sulfonamide antibiotics