Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Burns management and mortality rates have improved in even developing countries including some Arab states. This paper describes an experience with burn victims in the Yemen to draw attention to the victims' plight, the challenge posed to bodies, such as the International Society of Burn Injury (ISBI), and, the basic required corrective measures. ⋯ This experience confirms the believe that, given initiative and efficient organization of available resources, developing countries such as the Yemen can also achieve better burn management. Solutions suggested are determining local health needs; onsite conferences, symposia and training programs; local personnel to visit burn centers overseas; burn research and prevention activities; and epidemiologic studies.
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The case illustrates the dangers of wood ash even though it appears harmless. People believe that this folklore medicine remedy provides relief of pain, but it is obviously an inappropriate preparation and a risky procedure.
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Bathing in sauna has been customary for Finnish people for centuries. However, there are no actual reviews on sauna-related burns in the literature. This 7-year retrospective analyses of 598 burn patients treated in Kuopio University Hospital Burn Unit revealed that every fourth burn in our unit was sauna-related, giving a total of 154 cases. ⋯ A total of 71% of patients were male and 40% of all patients were under the influence of alcohol. The incidence of sauna-related burns in Finland according to our material is 7/100,000, giving a total of 357 patients annually. Hence, there is one sauna-related burn per day requiring hospitalization in Finland.
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The ability of laser Doppler imaging (LDI) to evaluate burn depth in children was investigated. Fifty-seven patients were prospectively studied over a 10-month period. Each patient was clinically assessed, photographed and independently scanned between 36 and 72 h of the burn. ⋯ Clinical examination correctly determined 66% of deep partial or full thickness burns between 36 and 72 h of injury compared to 90% using LDI. The LDI was also more specific; correctly diagnosing 96% of superficial partial thickness burns as opposed to 71% on clinical examination. Moderate degrees of movement did not appear to limit the accuracy of the scan.
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The present investigation is a descriptive study, with a retrospective, ex-post facto, design. The objectives of this study were to characterize the body image changes in patients with burn sequellae, through the critical incident technique and to identify and categorize critical incidents, comparing them to the characteristics defined by the Taxonomy of the North American Nursing Diagnoses Association (NANDA) for the body image disturbance nursing diagnosis. Thirty-five patients were interviewed. ⋯ Associated with the perceptions of changes in their bodies, the patients reported feelings of fear (19), rebellion (18) and shame (12). They also presented coping mechanisms of denial (12), rationalization (7), minimization (7) and repression (2). NANDA's body image disturbance diagnosis was identified in all patients.