Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association
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Severe thermal injury induces metabolic and physiological stress, prompting a disruption in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential confounding effects of Lactated Ringer's (LR) resuscitation on adrenal damage and cortisol production following burn. Anesthetized swine were instrumented with jugular catheters and sustained 40% TBSA burns from brass probes heated to 100°C. ⋯ Adrenal hemorrhaging was also greatest in MB animals, with no differences in tissue volume or wet-to-dry ratio. However, tissue levels of cytokines IL-1β, IL-10, and IL-12 were greatest in LV. Burn injury elevates urinary cortisol and compromises adrenal gland integrity, which is affected by IV fluid volume.
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Access to care for pediatric burns remsains a major public health problem in the United States. Telemedicine has an opportunity to improve access to care, but current models are expensive and inefficient. They have developed and pilot-tested the TeleBurn App, a novel smartphone application, to treat partial thickness burns while outpatient. ⋯ Adherence with completion of therapy in patients using the app was 80 vs 64 per cent with standard therapy. They describe a functional, scalable mobile health application in clinical use in a pediatric burn program. Further prospective, randomized studies may validate this mobile health platform, improving access to expert burn care for a vulnerable population.
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Review Case Reports
Bowel Necrosis and 3 Limb Amputation From High-Voltage Electrical Injury.
The objective of this study was to report the case and multidisciplinary management of a 44-year-old man with 40% TBSA third- and fourth-degree burns sustained during high-voltage electrical injury including 3 limb amputation and bowel necrosis requiring small bowel resection. This study is a case report and review of the literature. A 44-year-old man was brought to the Emergency Department with 40% TBSA third- and fourth-degree burns sustained during accidental contact with high-voltage electric current. ⋯ He also sustained a visceral injury and underwent small bowel resection. While amputations are very common in electrical burn injuries, visceral electrical injuries are not. High-voltage electrical injuries are devastating multisystem insults that require multidisciplinary critical and operative care.
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Long-term functional outcomes in young adults with facial burns remain poorly studied. This 5-year (2003-2008) prospective multicenter study includes burn survivors (age 19-30 years) who completed the Young Adult Burn Outcome Questionnaire (YABOQ) from 0 to 36 months after baseline survey administration. A composite canonical score was developed from 15 YABOQ domains using discriminant analysis, maximizing the difference at the baseline between burn-injured patients with face involved and not involved. ⋯ Satisfaction with Role was initially better than the nonface burned group, but over time got worse, while Perceived Appearance was initially worse in the face burned group but this difference diminished over time. Social Function Limited by Appearance was initially similar between the groups, but over time the group with face burns scored lower. The overall difference in recovery between survivors with and without facial burns diminished over time while the individual domains had various patterns of recovery.
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Multicenter Study
Hypertrophic Scar Severity at Autograft Sites Is Associated With Increased Pain and Itch After Major Thermal Burn Injury.
Approximately three quarters of major thermal burn injury (MThBI) survivors suffer from hypertrophic scarring (HTS) and over half experience chronic pain or itch. In survivors of MThBI, HTS and chronic pain or itch are considered one of the greatest unmet challenges of postburn injury care and psychosocial reintegration. Although scarring, itch, and pain have been clinically associated, there are no prospective, multisite studies examining tissue autograft site pain or itch and scar outcomes. ⋯ Study results suggest that preburn chronic pain or itch is associated with pathological scarring 6 months following MThBI. Results also indicate that stress may improve scarring after MThBI. Further work to understand the mechanisms that underlie both HTS and chronic pain or itch and their relationship to chronic stress is critical to the development of novel therapies to assist burn survivors recover.