Annals of burns and fire disasters
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Sep 2013
ReviewOpen burn wound dressing: a practical option in resource constrained settings.
Various types of wound care products abound for the treatment of burn injuries. Most of these products are rather expensive and beyond the means of many patients in poorer countries. This poses a challenge to burn care workers in these environments and calls for the adoption of practical solutions with the use of less expensive and readily available alternatives. ⋯ The TBSA range was 1 to 99% with a median of 28.5%. The mean duration from time of injury to wound healing was 21.5 days with a median of 17 days. Open burn wound dressing with silver sulphadiazine offers a satisfactory outcome and should be considered for burn dressing in low resource settings.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Jun 2013
ReviewThe use of Biobrane® to dress split-thickness skin graft in paediatric burns.
Biobrane(®) is commonly used in paediatric burns to cover partial thickness burns and donor sites of split thickness skin (SSG). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of Biobrane(®) in dressing SSG adjacent to skin graft donor sites or partial thickness burns. ⋯ Biobrane(®) promoted adherence of the SSG to the wound, prevented shearing, and allowed fluid drainage. At the same time, Biobrane(®) also facilitated healing of the adjacent donor sites or partial thickness burns.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Jun 2013
ReviewEpidemiology of major burns at the Lebanese Burn Center in Geitawi, Lebanon.
Burn care is one of the few areas in medicine considered both medically and surgically challenging, with burn injuries affecting people of all ages and both sexes. Between May 1992 and March 2012, 1,524 patients were admitted to the Lebanese Burn Center in Geitawi, with an average length of stay (LOS) of 36.5 days. The most frequently encountered injuries were thermal burns, generally resulting from domestic accidents. ⋯ A week after the injury, risk of infection was the main threat to the burn victims. Although this threat was compounded by malnutrition and immunodeficiency, excessive use of antibiotics was not justified. The fatality rate was about 18% and correlates with higher TBSA burns.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Jun 2013
ReviewHypoglossal nerve paralysis in a burn patient following mechanical ventilation.
Traumatic injury resulting in isolated dysfunction of the hypoglossal nerve is relatively rare and described in few case reports. We present a patient with isolated unilateral palsy of the twelfth cranial nerve (CN XII) resulting from recurrent airway intervention following extensive burn injuries. The differential diagnosis for paralysis of the CN XII is also discussed herein. This case illustrates the significance of comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and the need for refined airway manipulation in patients that require multiple endotracheal intubations.
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Ann Burns Fire Disasters · Jun 2013
ReviewCombined use of negative pressure wound therapy and Integra® to treat complex defects in lower extremities after burns.
Deep and extensive burns of lower extremities present a difficult challenge to healthcare professionals. After debridement, bones, tendons or joints are frequently exposed and cannot be covered by simple autografts. Moreover, in the case of major burns, damage to the surrounding areas of skin and the severity of the patient's overall condition, often count against using pedicled or microsurgical flaps. ⋯ After three weeks of treatment, the surface layer of the Integra(®) matrix was replaced with autografts. Due to partial loss of the skin grafts, a second autograft was needed. At present the patient is completely healed; he can walk with full flexion-extension of both ankles.