The Journal of burn care & rehabilitation
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J Burn Care Rehabil · Mar 2005
A regional burn center's response to a disaster: September 11, 2001, and the days beyond.
This report reviews the response of a regional burn center to the disaster that occurred in New York City at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. In addition, it assesses that response in the context of other medical institutions in the region. ⋯ The care rendered at this center was made possible by a "disaster-ready" facility and supplementation of personnel from the resources provided by The National Disaster Medical System. The patient outcomes at this center exceeded that as predicted by logistic regression analysis.
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J Burn Care Rehabil · Mar 2005
Managing a combined burn trauma disaster in the post-9/11 world: lessons learned from the 2003 West Pharmaceutical plant explosion.
At 1:37 pm on January 29, 2003, an explosion occurred at the West Pharmaceutical chemical plant in Kinston, North Carolina. The explosion killed three people at the scene and resulted in more than 30 admissions to area hospitals. ⋯ Ultimately, 7 of 10 patients survived (a mortality rate of 30%), and none were transferred to another trauma or burn center. This article analyzes the unique challenges that combined burn and trauma patients present during a disaster, critically examines the response to this disaster, describes lessons learned, and presents recommendations that may improve the response to such disasters in the future.
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This report describes the initial hospital and burn center management of a mass casualty incident resulting from an aircraft crash and fire. One hundred thirty soldiers were injured, including 10 immediate fatalities. Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, managed the casualties and began receiving patients 15 minutes after the crash. ⋯ All patients of the US Army Institute of Surgical Research survived to hospital discharge, and 34 returned to duty 3 months after the crash. The scenario of an on-ground aircraft explosion and fire approximates what might be seen as a result of an aircraft hijacking, bombing, or intentional crash. Lessons learned from this incident have utility in the planning of future response to such disasters.
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J Burn Care Rehabil · Jan 2005
Multicenter StudyBurden of burn: a norm-based inquiry into the influence of burn size and distress on recovery of physical and psychosocial function.
This prospective, longitudinal study examined the influence of baseline physical and psychological burden on serial assessments of health-related quality of life among adults with major burns from three regional burn centers (n = 162). Physical burden groups were defined by % TBSA burned: <10%, 10% to 30%, or >30%. Psychological burden groups were defined by in-hospital distress using the Brief Symptom Inventory Global Severity Index T-score with scores of < 63 or > or = 63. ⋯ Physical functioning was significantly more impaired and the rate of physical recovery slower among those with either large physical burden or large psychological burden. Notably, psychosocial functioning also was more impaired and the rate of psychosocial recovery slower among those with greater psychological burden. These results suggest that, in addition to aggressive wound closure, interventions that reduce in-hospital distress may accelerate both physical and psychosocial recovery.