Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association
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Firefighters are at significant risk for burn injuries. Most are minor and do not significantly affect ability to work in full capacity, but there exists risk for both short- and long-term incapacitation. Many push for earlier return to work than is medically advisable. ⋯ While many cite love of the job and a culture of pride and camaraderie that is "in our DNA," firefighters' decisions to return to work after burn injury are equally driven external pressures and obligations. Additional education is needed, which may best be facilitated by treatment at a Burn Center. Improved understanding of factors driving firefighters' views on returning to duty after injury may help establish support systems and improve education regarding risks of premature return to work, particularly with regard to reinjury.
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The coronavirus disease pandemic has affected our practice as healthcare professionals. As burn surgeons, we are obliged to provide the best possible care to our patients. ⋯ This warrants special caution to the burn team while managing such patients. In this review, we aim to highlight the key considerations for burn care teams while dealing with burn patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A Rule of Thumb for Hand Burns: Categorization and Mapping of Proportional Surface Area Involvement.
Hand burns are common and often complex injuries, requiring referral to specialist centers. The patient's thumbprint is a rapid means of accurately assessing hand burn surface area. This study aimed to establish categories and evaluate sites of hand burn surface area in order to facilitate comparison of hand burns. ⋯ The median thumbprint burn surface area was 1.5T (range 0.20-80T), which corresponds to 0.05% TBSA. The hand areas with the highest burn frequency per unit area were the dorsum of the hand and dorsum of the index finger, with relative sparing of the palm and palmar surface of the digits. Hand burns surface area varies widely, and thumbprint evaluation with categories and mapping allows finer distinction between the surface area proportions and specific sites involved, even in a small series of hand burns.
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Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and Stevens-Johnson/TEN overlap syndrome (SJS/TEN) are severe exfoliative skin disorders resulting primarily from allergic drug reactions and sometimes from viral causes. Because of the significant epidermal loss in many of these patients, many of them end up receiving treatment at a burn center for expertise in the care of large wounds. Previous work on the treatment of this disease focused only on the differences in care of the same patients treated at nonburn centers and then transferred to burn centers. ⋯ Patients with SJS/TEN and TEN were more likely to be treated at a burn center. Patients treated at burn centers appear to have more severe disease but similar mortality to those treated at nonburn centers. Further study is needed to determine whether patients with these disorders do indeed benefit from transfer to a burn center.
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Preburn comorbidities increase the risk of death in the acute phase, and negatively impact quality of life among survivors. Investigations to date have only evaluated comorbidities as indices, limiting the ability to target conditions and develop strategies for risk reduction. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the differential effects of specific conditions on long-term, patient-reported outcomes after burn injury. ⋯ Smoking, alcohol use disorder, and diabetes were associated with lower PCS scores 6 months after injury; diabetes persisted as a negatively associated covariate at 12 months. Mental component summary scores were negatively associated with mental illness 6 and 12 months postinjury. Integrated models of postdischarge comorbidity management need to be tested in burn patients.