Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Burns affecting the head and neck (H&N) can lead to significant changes in appearance. It is postulated that such injuries have a negative impact on patients' social functioning, quality of life, physical health, and satisfaction with appearance, but there has been little investigation of these effects using patient reported outcome measures. This study evaluates the effect of H&N burns on long-term patient reported outcomes compared to patients who sustained burns to other areas. ⋯ Survivors with H&N burns demonstrated community integration, physical health, and satisfaction with life outcomes similar to those of survivors with non-H&N burns. Scores in these domains improved over time. However, survivors with H&N burns demonstrated worse satisfaction with their appearance. These results suggest that strategies to address satisfaction with appearance, such as reconstructive surgery, cognitive behavior therapy, and social skills training, are an area of need for survivors with H&N burns.
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Native Americans (NAs) have worse healthcare outcomes over some measures than non-Native Americans (non-NAs) (i.e., lower life expectancy, higher heart disease and psychiatric disease rates). Little data exists to show if there are differences in the hospital course of burned NAs versus non-NA patients. The purpose of this study is to analyze the epidemiology, clinical course, and outcomes of NA burn injury in Arizona. ⋯ Our data demonstrate that NAs have a different experience with the healthcare system than non-NAs after a burn injury. The majority of these issues revolve around socioeconomic differences between the two groups.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
New fluid therapy protocol in acute burn from a tertiary burn care centre.
Ringer lactate is the main fluid for resuscitation of acute burns. However it is not a complete fluid alone, as it does not take care of sugar and electrolyte balance adequately. This study has been carried out to compare the use of Ringer lactate (RL) alone and combination of RL with Dextrose Normal Saline (DNS) as fluid replacement therapy in acute burn. ⋯ RL is not an ideal fluid for maintenance as it is low in sodium (130mEq/L) as well as potassium (4mEq/L) in view of daily electrolyte requirement. There is no glucose content in it to provide calories. Therefore, DNS should be added as daily maintenance fluid with RL as replacement for evaporative losses following burns.
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Animal studies indicate treating burn injuries with running water (first aid) for 20min up to 3h post-burn reduces healing time and scarring. There is a lack of human data to support such a recommendation. The purpose of this cohort study was to assess the effect of first aid on clinical outcomes. ⋯ Adequate first aid with 20min of running water is associated with improved outcomes. Benefits are seen in a reduction in wound depth, faster healing, and decreased grafting requirements. This has significant patient and health system benefits, and calls for promotion of 20min of running water globally in burns care.
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This study was conducted to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of burn injuries, estimate the case fatality rate for burn patients, and determine the main determinants of the associated death among burn patients who were admitted to Baghdad Burn Hospital, Medical City Teaching Hospitals, Baghdad, Iraq during 2015. This study involved a retrospective review of medical records of all burn patients who were admitted to Baghdad Burn Hospital in 2015. Data were collected using a special form and included information on demographic characteristics and burn characteristics and outcomes. ⋯ In conclusion, young adults and children, males, and low educated patients represent the majority of admitted burn cases in Iraq. Flame and scalds were the most important causes of burn. More than one tenth of patients died mostly due to septicemia and multi-organ failure.