Annals of burns and fire disasters
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We surveyed the epidemiology of the patients in a tertiary burn care centre (the Motahari Burn Hospital) in Tehran in the 4-yr period 2005-2009. Scalding was the major cause of burn injury for patients under the age of 6, while there were many more flame and electrical burns in late childhood. Males were mainly affected (male to female ratio, 1.7:1). ⋯ The overall mortality rate was 10.6%. Treatment and prevention programmes should target high risk groups. Important criteria include older age, flame burn, presence of inhalation injury, total body surface area burned above 40%, and sepsis.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Sep 2012
Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome due to burn wound infection.
Introduction. The staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome is an acute exfoliation of the skin caused by exfoliative toxins A and B. Although Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of burn wound infection, SSSS following burn wound infection is rare. Method. A retrospective review of all SSSS cases admitted to a regional burns service between January 2008 and January 2012 was undertaken. Results. Two cases of SSSS were reported during this time period as occurring following burns injury. The first case was a 17-month-old boy who had been hospitalized for a conservative treatment of 6% total body surface area (TBSA) mixed depth scald burns. On day four he developed exfoliation of 85% TBSA. The second case was a ten-month-old boy who sustained a 1% TBSA scald burn and was managed conservatively in the community by his general practitioner. On day five, he developed exfoliation of 80% TBSA. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the burn wounds in both cases. ⋯ These two cases show that it is vital for burns surgeons and intensive care specialists to be aware of the possibility of SSSS occurring in patients with burn injuries with its potential devastating effects.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Sep 2012
The menace of post-burn contractures: a developing country's perspective.
A study was carried out regarding 213 patients of either gender and all ages who presented with post-burn contractures. The commonest site of contracture was the neck. 92 patients (43.19%) had received their initial burn injury management in general surgery units in tertiary care hospitals compared to 43 patients (20.18%) in district headquarter hospitals. ⋯ The majority of patients (n=197) had a history of conservative management, with only 16 patients (7.51%) having a split thickness skin graft for part of their initial burns. None of the patients had the appropriate anti-deformity splintage in the affected parts or any physiotherapy during the acute phase of their burns.
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A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the different characteristics of attempted suicide by self-inflicted burn cases compared with other accidental burn cases admitted to the Burns Unit in Al-Jumhoori Teaching Hospital in Mosul over a one-year period from March 1, 2011 to March 1, 2012. Of 459 burn cases, 103 (22.44%) had self-inflicted burns. The mean total body surface area of suicide attempters was 61%, markedly higher than in other cases (20%) (P= 0.0001). ⋯ Compared to all other burn cases, self-inflicted burn cases had a significantly larger mean percentage of surface body area burned (61.0±28.2 versus 20.7±15.8; P = 0.0001). In conclusion, self-inflicted burns remain a common cause of admission to our burn unit. The extent of burns is often large, since most suicide attempters use an accelerant that accounts for the high mortality in this group.