Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Comparative Study
Comparison of virtual bronchoscopy to fiber-optic bronchoscopy for assessment of inhalation injury severity.
Compare virtual bronchoscopy (VB) to fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) for scoring smoke inhalation injury (SII). ⋯ VB provided similar injury severity scores to FOB, correlated with PFR, and reliably detected airway narrowing. VB performed during admission CT may be a useful screening tool specifically to demonstrate airway narrowing induced by SII.
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This study was undertaken to investigate changes in RNA expression in previously healthy adult human skin following thermal injury induced by contact with hot metal that was undertaken as part of esthetic scarification, a body modification practice. Subjects were recruited to have pre-injury skin and serial wound biopsies performed. 4 mm punch biopsies were taken prior to branding and 1 h, 1 week, and 1, 2 and 3 months after injury. RNA was extracted and quality assured prior to the use of a whole-genome based bead array platform to describe expression changes in the samples using the pre-injury skin as a comparator. ⋯ Using a k of 10, several clusters of genes were shown to co-cluster together based on Gene Ontology classification with probabilities unlikely to occur by chance alone. OF particular interest were clusters relating to cell cycle, proteinaceous extracellular matrix and keratinization. Given the consistent expression changes at 1 week following injury in the cell cycle cluster, there is an opportunity to intervene early following burn injury to influence scar development.
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Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a rare condition characterised by mucocutaneous exfoliation of greater than 30% total body surface area (%TBSA), increasingly being treated in burns centres. The rate of mortality varies significantly in the literature, with recent prospective studies in non-burns centres reporting percentage mortality of approximately 45%. We undertook a systematic review of published studies that included TEN patients treated specifically in burns centres to determine a cumulative mortality rate. ⋯ The review highlights the variation between principles of treatment and mortality amongst burns centres. It offers a standard that burns centre can use to internationally compare their mortality rates. The review supports the ongoing reporting of outcomes in TEN patients with epidermal detachment greater than 30%.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Topical petrolatum gel alone versus topical silver sulfadiazine with standard gauze dressings for the treatment of superficial partial thickness burns in adults: A randomized controlled trial.
Non-extensive superficial partial thickness burns constitute a major proportion of burns. Conventional treatment involves regular changing of absorptive dressings including the application of a topical antimicrobial, commonly silver sulfadiazine. A systematic review has found insufficient evidence to support or refute such antimicrobial prophylaxis. Another review compared silver sulfadiazine dressings with other occlusive and non-antimicrobial dressings and found insufficient evidence to guide practice. Other research has suggested that dressings with petrolatum gel are as effective as silver sulfadiazine. ⋯ Petrolatum gel without top dressings may be at least as effective as silver sulfadiazine gauze dressings with regard to time to re-epithelialization, and incidence of infection and allergic contact dermatitis. Petrolatum gel appears to be an effective, affordable and widely available alternative in the treatment of minor superficial partial thickness burns in adults.
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The Burns Specific Health Scale - Brief (BSHS-B) was analyzed to investigate the longitudinal impact of burns on sexuality and body image. Four sub-domains of the BSHS-B domains were of particular interest: sexuality, body image, affect and relationships, and as such were investigated for correlation between all of the sub-scales of the BSHS-B. ⋯ Burn survivors experience sexuality, body image and relationship changes following a burn, which may affect their quality of life (QoL) over time. Rehabilitation services need to be aware of these issues and create rehabilitation programs that specifically and meaningfully address these issues for burn survivors.