J Trauma
-
Organ dysfunction and sepsis are frequent after major burn trauma, represent quantifiable consequences of the systemic response to injury, and may be important end points by which to measure treatment effectiveness. However, standard and widely applied methods for their measurement have not been applied to burn trauma victims. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to quantify these complications after burn trauma. ⋯ According to simple and objective scoring systems, severe MOD and severe sepsis/septic shock are both related to burn size, age, and male sex. Both are related to intensive care unit length of stay and duration of mechanical ventilation.
-
The incidence of thromboembolic complications such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) in thermally injured patients is considered sufficiently uncommon that routine prophylactic measures are not warranted. Nevertheless, the incidence of DVT/PE may be increasing. ⋯ One can identify a population at increased risk of DVT/PE on the basis of the sum of age and TBSA burn, but prospective screening trials that assess all risk factors for DVT/PE should be performed before routine prophylaxis is used in thermally injured patients.
-
The effects of blood alcohol on injury after crash are controversial, and safe limits are not settled. We examined if a positive blood alcohol concentration, even in a nontoxic range, affects management and outcome of injured patients after road crashes. ⋯ In injured patients after a road crash, a positive blood alcohol concentration increases the chance that the final diagnosis will include more injuries than initially documented. More careful monitoring is needed in alcohol-positive trauma patients, independent of clinical status, injury severity, and overt symptoms of alcohol intoxication.