Annals of burns and fire disasters
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Burn injuries put a huge financial burden on patients and healthcare systems. They are the 8th leading cause of mortality and the 13th most common cause of morbidity in our country. We used data from our Burn Registry Program to evaluate risk factors for mortality and lethal area fifty percent (LA50) in all burn patients admitted over two years. ⋯ Authorities should pay special attention to these variables, especially in prevention programs, to reduce mortality and improve patient outcome. Children have better outcome than adults given equal burn size. Suicide rates are higher for women than men in our country.
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There is limited English literature describing the experience of a civilian hospital managing blast-related burn injuries. As the largest regional burn unit, we reviewed our cases with the aim of identifying means to improve current management. A 6-year retrospective analysis of all patients coded as sustaining blast-related burns was conducted through the unit's burns database. ⋯ Blast-related burn injuries are generally uncommon in the civilian setting. Following proper assessment, most of these cases can be deemed as minor injuries and managed conservatively. Improvement in burns management education and training at local emergency departments would provide efficient patient care and avoid unnecessary referrals to a burns unit.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Mar 2016
Time from accident to admission to a burn intensive care unit: how long does it actually take? A 25-year retrospective data analysis from a german burn center.
Severe burn injuries often require specialized treatment at a burn center. It is known that prompt admission to an intensive care unit is essential for achieving good outcome. Nevertheless, very little is known about the duration of time before a patient is admitted to a specialized center after a burn injury in Germany, and whether the situation has improved over time. ⋯ Furthermore, patients with severe burn injuries of 40-89% total body surface area (TBSA) showed the least differences in transfer time. Interestingly, the youngest and the oldest patients arrived at the burn intensive care unit (BICU) the fastest. This study should help elucidate published knowledge regarding transfer time from the scene of the accident to admission to a BICU in Germany.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Mar 2016
Immediate tangential excision accelerates wound closure but does not reduce scarring of mid-dermal porcine burns.
Current evidence supports the use of excision to remove eschar from deep dermal and full-thickness burns. However, the role of excision of mid-dermal burns remains unclear. This study aimed to develop a porcine model that could produce reproducible middermal thermal burns that undergo tangential excision; and investigate the effects of immediate tangential excision (30 minutes postburn) on healing and scarring. ⋯ Exposure of porcine skin to a preheated aluminum bar at 70 °C for 20 or 30 sec resulted in reproducible mid-dermal burns, where immediate excision enhanced complete wound closure as judged by complete re-epithelialization, but did not reduce initial depth of injury, scar contraction and scar depth. Immediate surgical intervention is sufficient to enhance wound closure, but not to mitigate mid-dermal burn scar formation. This work provides a suitable animal model to evaluate novel therapies that may be used to inhibit burn progression, accelerate wound closure and decrease scarring, especially those therapies unable to penetrate burn eschar.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Mar 2016
High-voltage electrical burns due to copper theft - Case series.
Electrical burns are among the most devastating trauma inflicted on the human body. These burns have a higher morbidity, length of stay and a much higher risk of amputation than any other type of burn. Electrical burns affect mostly young, working males because they are more frequently the result of a work accident. However, possibly due to the worldwide economic crisis, we are experiencing a new phenomenon: the theft of high-voltage copper wiring.