Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
-
Kangari, an earthenware brazier containing burning charcoal, is used for personal warming during the winter months by most of the people in Kashmir valley. Kangari is usually held close to the lower abdomen or in between the legs while squatting on the ground. ⋯ In the present study 43 patients with Kangari cancer were analyzed prospectively with the objective of understanding their clinico-pathological profile and the response to various treatment modalities. Variables such as age, gender, grade, site of lesion etc., were evaluated for their prognostic significance.
-
Comparative Study
The use of laser Doppler imaging as an aid in clinical management decision making in the treatment of vesicant burns.
Vesicants are a group of chemicals recognised, under the terms of the Chemical Weapons Convention, as potential chemical warfare agents whose prime effect on the skin is to cause burns and blistering. Experience of the clinical management of these injuries is not readily available and therefore an accurate assessment of the severity of the lesion and extent of tissue involvement is an important factor when determining the subsequent clinical management strategy for such lesions. ⋯ The results from this study suggest that LDI was: (i) a simple, reproducible and noninvasive means of assessing changes in tissue perfusion, and hence tissue viability, in developing and healing vesicant burns; (ii) the LDI images correlates well with histopathological assessment of the resulting lesions and the technique was sufficiently sensitive enough to discriminate between skin lesions of different aetiology. These attributes suggest that LDI would be a useful investigative tool that could aid clinical management decision making in the early treatment of vesicant agent-induced skin burns.
-
Comparatively little attention has been given to the impact of smaller burns (less than 20% body surface area) on patients' health status after their return to normal life. The objective of this study was to investigate patients' own assessment of their physical and psychological health 3-4 months after discharge from in-patient treatment. A postal survey was employed which utilised: (a) personal and employment status questions; (b) a short health status questionnaire which was developed for use with this group of patients; (c) the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HAD); (d) the impact of event scale (IES). ⋯ Physical and social function were reported to be affected at the follow-up point in a minority of patients. The greatest impact of the injury was on levels of anxiety and response to trauma-related stress, as measured by the HAD and IES instruments - almost one third of the responders (15 patients) had clinically significant scores on either or both dimensions of the IES. Factors which may be associated with the response to trauma-related stress are discussed.
-
Evaluation of growth hormone therapy in burns is limited and none is reported from developing countries where burns still carry high mortality. We analysed serial observations on the clinical and biochemical profiles in 13 patients with second and third degree burns who received recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) (0.5 IU/kg body wt) for 2 weeks in addition to standard conservative treatment and in 9 patients who were managed with standard conservative treatment only. The two groups of patients had burns, comparable in extent and severity. ⋯ Transient hypercalcemia (3 patients), albuminuria (2 patients) and elevated blood glucose (one patient) were noted in the rhGH treated group not necessitating any specific therapy. Mortality in rhGH treatment group was 8.3% compared to 44.5% in the "no rhGH" treatment group. These observations suggest significant benefits of short term rhGH treatment in burn patients on conservative management.
-
Childhood burns in Egypt are a significant problem, especially in families of low socioeconomic status. These families live in overcrowded flats, which lack proper hygiene and tend to use kerosene stoves, which lack any safety measures. Three hundred and five burned children presented to the burn unit of Ain Shams University over a 20 month period. ⋯ There was an increase in the incidence between the ages of 4 to 6 years. Scalds formed 56.7% of the cause of burns, while 38.6% were due to flame. In 3 and 1.6% the cause of burn was electrical and chemical, respectively. 20 patients were victims of industrial accidents showing a major problem of entrance of children between 8-15 years of lower socioeconomic class into the labor force. 87.2% of the patients had minor burns while 13 children (4.3%) died of the consequences of burns during the period of the study.