Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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The Baux score - the sum of age and total body surface area burned (TBSA %) - is a good predictor of mortality has a high specificity but low sensitivity. Our aim was to examine the causes of death in patients who die with Baux scores of <100, which may explain the lower sensitivity and possibly affect the prediction of mortality. ⋯ Patients with burns who died with a Baux score <100 were a quarter of all the patients who died. An important finding is that most of these deaths were caused by reasons other than the burn, usually cerebrovascular disease. This may be the explanation why the sensitivity of the Baux score is low, as factors other than age and TBSA % explain the fatal outcome.
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Nitric oxide is a wound mediator that promotes wound healing. We hypothesized that topical application of nitric oxide would speed reepithelialization, enhance angiogenesis, and reduce scar thickness in a partial thickness porcine burn model. ⋯ Treatment of partial thickness porcine burns with high concentrations of topical NO resulted in earlier reepithelization and increased angiogenesis but not reduced scar thickness compared with its control vehicle in a partial thickness porcine burn model.
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It is well demonstrated that adequate burns first aid treatment (BFAT) improves clinical outcomes for the injured but adequacy remains low in many studies. This study presents a twelve month assessment of the adequacy of burns first aid treatment for patients managed by the Burns Service, Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH). ⋯ Overall adequacy of BFAT is low in the Top End of the Northern Territory. Remote dwellers and Indigenous persons are at increased risk of not applying or receiving adequate BFAT. The poor level of adequate BFAT demonstrated in this study suggests that the Top End community particularly remote and Indigenous persons would benefit from targeted BFAT education programs that are delivered in a culturally and linguistically appropriate fashion.
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Human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) have potential utility as modulators of the regeneration of tissue that is inflamed or scarred secondary to injuries such as burns or trauma. However, the effect of ASCs on one particular type of scarring, keloidal disease, remains unknown. The absence of an optimal model for investigation has hindered the development of an effective therapy using ASCs for keloids. ⋯ These results suggest that ASCs are associated with the inhibition of fibrosis in keloids by a paracrine effect. This phenomenon may have utility as a therapeutic approach in the clinical environment.
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To explore the prevalence of pediatric (0-72 months old) scalds, and to clarify its relationship with household vacuum flasks. ⋯ Prevalence of pediatric scalds (0-72 months old) was rather high, which might be related to the extensive insecure usage of household vacuum flasks.