Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association
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Home oxygen therapy use has steadily increased for the past 30 years. A majority of these patients suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease secondary to smoking. Although warned of the danger of smoking while on oxygen, patients continue to do so, potentially resulting in cutaneous burns and suspected inhalation injury. ⋯ Between the subgroups, no difference was found in %TBSA, ventilator days, or LOS. One patient admitted for airway observation required intubation and one patient failed extubation, postoperatively. Patients on home oxygen therapy suspected of inhalation injury should ideally be observed for signs of airway compromise before intubation is performed.
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As a superstition, homemade decoctions are believed to be beneficial for several diseases. This kind of medical therapy, however, can lead to serious adverse effects. In this report, we present three cases from a single family. ⋯ Silver sulfadiazine was used for wound care. The mother was discharged 6 days after admission, the father, after 8 days, and the boy, after 14 days. Burnlike wounds in all three cases healed completely.
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The American Burn Association publishes a list of defined criteria for patients who require admission or transfer to a burn center. This study examines the extent to which those criteria are observed within a regional burn network. Hospital discharge data for 2008 were obtained for all hospitals within the South Florida regional burn network. ⋯ Inappropriate burn patient triage may be occurring to more than half of the burn patients within our regional burn network despite better functional outcomes at the burn center. This may be because of a lack of knowledge regarding triage criteria, patient insurance status, or other factors. Further studies are necessary to fully characterize the problem and implement education or incentives to encourage appropriate burn patient triage.
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Burn-specific guidelines for optimal catheter rotation, catheter type, insertion methods, and catheter site care do not exist, and practices vary widely from one burn unit to another. The purpose of this study was to define current practices and identify areas of practice variation for future clinical investigation. An online survey was sent to the directors of 123 U. ⋯ PICCs were used in some critically injured patients in 37% of units; the majority of these users did not rotate PICCs. Thus, it can be surmised that wide practice variation exists among burn centers with regard to insertion and maintenance of invasive catheters. Areas with particular variability that would be appropriate targets of clinical investigation are line rotation protocols, catheter site care protocols, and use of PICCs in acute burns.