Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Burn disasters present a challenge not only to burn centers but the entire healthcare system. Most burn centers worldwide are unprepared to deal with a burn disaster as it is an uncommon event. We investigated the status of burn center preparedness in German-speaking countries to respond to a burn disaster. ⋯ Nevertheless, there are some gaps in the areas of planning and preparation, funding for disaster activities, and regular training of staff for burn disasters. We call for a unified burn disaster plan and increased cooperation between burn centers and civil defense regarding communication and training. We strongly recommend the implementation of a special disaster fund and telemedicine in disaster management to circumvent shortages in burn staff.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of a topical surfactant and a topical antibiotic in the rat comb burn model.
Burn injury progression in the secondary zone of ischemia is common leading to delayed healing and increased scarring. We hypothesized that a topical surfactant, would reduce burn injury progression in a validated rat comb burn model compared with topical antibiotic ointment. ⋯ A topical surfactant did not reduce injury progression in the rat comb burn model when compared with antibiotic ointment. The surfactant was more durable than the antibiotic ointment.
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Severe burns results in a prolonged hypermetabolic response. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), abundant in uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), plays a key role in non-shivering thermogenesis. We set out to determine if BAT is recruited in response to severe burns. ⋯ We show a time-dependent recruitment of rodent BAT in response to severe burns. Given recent reports that humans, including patients with severe burns, have functional BAT, these data support a role for BAT in the hypermetabolic response to severe burns.
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Burns are one of the major health issues that considerably affect variable groups of the population, varying in age and severity. Despite advances in burn surgical and non-surgical treatments, patient's appearance still represents public health issue. In regards to surgical treatment of burns, skin grafting is still considered the gold standard. One of the major burdens in the burn surgical treatments is the availability of the skin for grafting. As for the non-surgical treatment different modalities of skin dressings or substitutes are still available as an option. ⋯ The study concluded that the majority of participants were willing to donate their skin, and they were aware of the concept of skin donation and its crucial importance in surgical burn management. The current study showed the majority of participants were aware of skin donation and skin use for burn treatment, in addition to having positive attitude toward skin donation. Men were more aware than the women of skin donation. Religious concern was a major reason for participants' skin donation refusal, an issue that can be addressed by contacting Islamic scholars to issue a Fatwa approving the cause.