Newer antibiotics and old remedies like silver are proving effective at taking on drug-resistant bacteria, presenters at a regional burn conference said Friday. There is also a nonsurgical way to take off dead skin potentially on the horizon, researchers said.

The South Region Burn Conference, which began Wednesday in Augusta, will run through Sunday. Physicians and staff at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital and others presented a number of findings.

Medical Director Fred Mullins presented findings from 30 patients on an enzyme that is applied immediately to burned skin to remove dead tissue and is about as effective as the surgical removal that is normally used for these burns. The enzyme, which is made from the stem of the pineapple plant, has the advantage of being more quickly applied and results in less blood loss, Dr. Mullins said.

"If you can get the tissue cleaned up, why do you need to take them back to the operating room?" Dr. Mullins asked. The enzyme is awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

If approved, "that's going to change how we do things," said burn surgeon Arnold Luterman, of the University of South Alabama, who helped conduct the initial studies.

Multidrug-resistant bacteria is a continuing problem but there were some encouraging findings from new and old remedies. Arkansas Children's Hospital has had success treating pneumonia not responding to antibiotics with an inhaled solution containing silver, said respiratory therapist Mark Mann.

The Still Burn Center treats wounds with drug-resistant bacteria using silver-coated dressings, said physician assistant Kevin Lack.

"There's really no resistance to silver-coated dressings," he said.

Some newer generation antibiotics are also showing success against the stubborn germs. Daptomycin proved about 97 percent effective against one class of bacteria in a study of 415 patients, including patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. Tigecycline came out 91 percent effective against many of those bacteria and another class of bacteria that also includes some of the most difficult to treat.

Bruce Friedman, the critical care director at the Still Burn Center, conducted both studies but said the real key is in how they are used.

"The key to resistance is the proper use of the (drug)," said Dr. Friedman, who is a paid speaker for both drug companies involved. "You really have to approach the patient from a total care standpoint. Not only do you apply the antibiotics but you provide excellent wound care, you treat all their other (health problems), you make sure their glucoses are controlled, you make sure they're well-nourished and you shorten their antibiotic course. If you do all of those things, then you will maintain the viability of most of these antibiotics."