Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Laryngeal morphologic changes are important in risk assessment of upper airway obstruction (UAO) after inhalation injury. This retrospective study evaluates the clinical application of laryngeal burn classification system. ⋯ The classification system of the morphologic laryngeal changes in laryngeal burn patients could effectively evaluate the UAO risk, enable earlier prophylactic tracheotomy after UAO onset, reduce surgical difficulties and risks, decrease clinical pressure of doctors, and prevent UAO. Laryngeal burn severity was related to TBSA and mortality and may be an important severity and prognosis indicator of inhalation injury.
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The DermaLab Combo® measures pigmentation and vascularity of a burn scar more reliably than the modified Vancouver Scar Scale (mVSS). This study aims to examine how the DermaLab Combo® continuous measurements of pigmentation and vascularity of burns scars relate to the mVSS, a standard clinical scar assessment method; and secondly, to obtain evidence to support the concurrent validity of DermaLab Combo® measurements for pigmentation and vascularity. ⋯ Quantifying percentage changes in melanin and erythema relative to matched normal skin improved understanding of the DermaLab Combo® pigmentation and vascularity measurements. The DermaLab Combo® pigmentation MI% values were able to be classified into pigmentation categories of the mVSS, and pigmentation classification concordance was further improved with consideration of the scar's DermaLab Combo® vascularity EI% values. The DermaLab Combo® is an objective tool; however, while the measurement provides continuous numerical data that may be useful for identifying change over time in clinical scar monitoring of pigmentation and vascularity, further work will be useful to understand the DermaLab Combo® measurements to optimise the interpretation of these data.
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Safe and reliable vascular access is essential for the treatment and care of burn patients. Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are widely used for various groups of critically and chronically ill patients. However, the information about PICC use and management for burn patients is limited. ⋯ Although PICCs are adequate for burn patient care, there are no protocols or guidelines covering rational and safe usage of PICCs. Standard guidelines on PICC placement and management specifically for burn patient should be developed.
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In children under 1 year of age, the proportion of unintentional burns increases with infant age and mobility. Infants are not able to avoid burns and are dependent on parental or adult help. Treatment of burns in young children is expensive in terms of the life-long costs. ⋯ For a subsample of parents who completed the USFA Checklist (n=22), the mean percentage of advocated practices followed was 71±11% (range: 40-89%). Using DVDs was an effective educational modality for increasing HFS knowledge. This addressed an important problem of decreasing burns in infants through increasing parent knowledge and HFS practices using a short, inexpensive DVD.
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We investigated the effectiveness of ligustrazine (tetramethylpyrazine, TMP) in alleviating pulmonary damage induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Twenty-four healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: the blank group, LPS group, and TMP treatment group (TMP group). The LPS group was intraperitoneally injected with LPS (20mg/kg), and the TMP group was intraperitoneally injected with LPS (20mg/kg) and ligustrazine (80mg/kg). ⋯ Compared with the LPS group, PaO2 significantly increased in the TMP group at 4h (P<0.05), while the W/D ratio and DAD score were significantly decreased in the TMP group (P<0.01). TNF-α levels, CD31+ EMPs, and protein expression of ROCK II and TLR4 were significantly decreased in the TMP group compared with the LPS group (P<0.01). This study demonstrated that TMP can alleviate LPS-induced pulmonary damage by attenuating pulmonary vascular permeability and CD31+ EMP levels in the plasma, reducing the release of the inflammatory mediator TNF-α and inhibiting the protein expression of ROCK II and TLR4.