Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
-
Burn injuries contribute significantly to childhood morbidity and mortality. This study was designed to document the pattern of presentation and outcome of pediatric burn injury in Enugu.
-
Research to date has mainly focused on burn injuries treated in secondary care. This study aims to provide knowledge on the epidemiology of burn injuries in primary care, to give directions for burn prevention. ⋯ Dutch general practitioners have a large share in burn care and therefore can play a significant role in burn prevention. Prevention may be most effective in the summer and around New Year's Eve, and specific attention seems to be warranted for low socioeconomic groups and strongly urbanised neighbourhoods.
-
Burn injury pain manifests as a combination of inflammatory, nociceptive, and neuropathic features. While opioids are the mainstay of burn pain management, non-opioid medications, such as gabapentinoids, have also been considered as they target the central nervous system. Increased opioid adverse events and overdose deaths in the United States led to the 2014 and 2016 guidelines to reduce opioid prescribing and consider alternatives, such as gabapentinoids. ⋯ The rate of increase in GABA prescriptions was higher for those aged 50-65 years or residing in the South. After adjustment, GABA was 44% more likely to be prescribed in 2017 and 2018 compared to 2012 and 2013, opioids were 38% less likely, while co-prescribing did not show a statistically significant change. Our study showed a modest increase in gabapentinoids' outpatient prescribing for burn patients after the 2014 and 2016 guidelines, indicating more opportunities for prescribers to expand non-opioid pain management in this population.
-
No epidemiological information is available of the number of burns treated in the past 30 years in Romania. The aim of the present study is to investigate the extent of burn injuries in Romania, as well as to detect and analyze the essential epidemiological characteristics. ⋯ This is the first nationwide epidemiological study concerning hospitalized burns in Romania. It provides insight in demographical characteristics but also uncovers a worrying trend of increasing mortality rates, which requires further investigation. This study cannot make any reference to the severity of burns (surface and depth) or towards major burns events which unfolded during the studied period, due to lack of data. Consequently, it should raise awareness towards policymakers and caregivers that for a durable burns management strategy in Romania, it would be extremely useful to implement a national burn registry.