Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Review
A review of treatment strategies for hydrofluoric acid burns: Current status and future prospects.
Hydrofluoric acid (HF), a dangerous inorganic acid, can cause severe corrosive effects and systemic toxicity. HF enters the human body via where it contacts, such as skin and mucosa, alimentary and respiratory tracts, and ocular surfaces. In the recent years, the incidence of HF burn has tended to increase over time. ⋯ Whereas, management of patients with HF burns remains a great challenge in some situations. To date, there has been no widely accepted protocol for the rescue of HF burns, partly due to the diversity of HF burns. This paper overviews the current status and problems of treatment strategies for HF burns, for the purpose of promoting the future researches and improvement.
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Observational Study
The impact of inhalation injury in patients with small and moderate burns.
Inhalation injury is an independent risk factor of mortality in burn patients. The burn index (BI), which includes burn depth and size, also plays a role in predicting mortality. We aimed to establish a relationship between survival rate, inhalation injury, and BI. ⋯ Inhalation injuries significantly reduced the survival rate, especially when the BI was less than 50. The possibility of pulmonary dysfunction and complications arising from inhalation injury should be considered even in patients who have small cutaneous burns associated with inhalation injuries.
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Observational Study
Characterization of critically ill adult burn patients admitted to a Brazilian intensive care unit.
To characterize the evolution of clinical and physiological variables in severe adult burn patients admitted to a Brazilian burn ICU, we hypothesized that characteristics of survivors are different from non-survivors after ICU admission. ⋯ In this study of an ICU in a developing country, the mortality rate of critically ill burn patients was high and the TBSA was an independent risk factor for death. SAPS3 at admission and cumulative fluid balance in the first seven days, were also associated with unfavorable outcomes. The implementation of judicious fluid management after an acute resuscitation phase may help to improve outcomes in this scenario.
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Hypothermia, acidaemia and coagulopathy in trauma is associated with significant mortality. This study aimed to identify the incidence of the lethal triad in major burns, and describe demographics and outcomes. ⋯ Burn patients with the lethal triad have a high mortality rate which reflects the severity of the injury sustained.
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Skin grafts with an artificial dermis have been widely used as a part of the efforts to minimize contractures and reduce donor-site scars. We conducted a prospective randomized clinical trial to study the effect of a dermal substitute by measuring the size of the graft after surgery for months. ⋯ This study examined the progress of skin grafts through the measurement of graft size in the human body. The grafted skin underwent contracture and remodeling for 3-6 months. In terms of skin contraction, an acute burn was more serious than scar reconstruction. The use of an artificial dermis that contains elastin is very effective from the functional and esthetic perspective by minimizing contractures and enhancing skin elasticity.