Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Circumferential deep burns on the limb lead to a constrictive, tourniquet-like effect causing critical limb ischaemia. The treatment, escharotomy, is a time-critical procedure that sometimes is required before the patient arrives at a burn centre. At present, no practical method of teaching this procedure is incorporated into formal educational courses. ⋯ We developed a comprehensive simulator course that has been demonstrated to improve candidate's confidence in performing escharotomy. The next stage in the course development is to confirm the results in a larger cohort. By developing this simulator course we aim to improve emergency burn care education in the UK and globally.
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Intravenous iron is an effective treatment for anaemia in many populations but has not been evaluated in those with burn anaemia. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous iron to manage burn anaemia. ⋯ This exploratory study provides preliminary evidence of benefit and safety of intravenous iron treatment on burn anaemia recovery.
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Skin allografts represent a milestone in burn patient treatment. However, skin procurement is still burdened by high rates of contamination, and validation procedures have not yet been standardized. In addition, it is not clear if tissue viability affects allograft skin outcomes. ⋯ No significant associations were observed between tissue viability and clinical outcomes (length of hospitalization, cause of donor death, or inflammatory parameters) after allograft transplantation. In these large case series, we identified donor and procurement variables that may affect allograft skin recipients. The decontamination method appeared to be a critical step for skin allograft requiring better standardization.
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This study aimed to determine the effect of combined treatment with non-ablative laser and human stem cell-conditioned medium (HSCM) on tissue regeneration after burn-induced hypertrophic scar (HTS) formation. ⋯ These results suggest that HSCM has a positive effect on short-term results when applied after laser treatment of hypertrophic scars.
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Observational Study
Burn injuries in the older population and understanding the common causes to influence accident prevention.
The over 65 years old are a fast growing population leading to a future increase in patients. Burn injuries can have a serious effect on a patient's health, requiring longer hospital stays and affecting their mortality. The regional burns unit at Pinderfields General Hospital cares for all patients with burn injuries in the Yorkshire and Humber region in the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to understand the common causes of burn injury in the elderly population and to provide scope on what actions need to be carried out to influence accident prevention in the future. ⋯ The main cause of burn injuries in the elderly of Yorkshire and Humber was food preparation. The majority of the food preparation burn injuries were a scald burn due to the handling of hot fluids, either from a saucepan or a kettle. A prevention strategy aiming to make people aware of this finding can help reduce burn injuries in the over 65 years old age group.