Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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In this animal study, three topical antibacterial dressings, Acticoat, chlorhexidine acetate 0.5% and silver sulfadiazine 1%, were compared in the treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii contamination of burns. All treatments were effective and prevented the organism invading the muscle and causing systemic infection, so there were significant differences between the results of the treatment groups and the control group. Mean eschar concentrations did not differ significantly between the silver sulfadiazine and chlorhexidine acetate groups, but there were significant differences between these and the Acticoat group, indicating that Acticoat eliminated A. baumannii from the tissues more effectively.
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Coding inpatient episodes plays an important role in determining the financial remuneration of a clinical service. Insufficient or incomplete data may have very significant consequences on its viability. We created a document that improves the coding process in our Burns Centre. ⋯ The new form is able to ensure a high quality of coding with a possible direct impact on the financial resources accrued for burn care.
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Burns are responsible for significant mortality and morbidity worldwide and are among the most devastating of all injuries, with outcomes spanning the spectrum from physical impairments and disabilities to emotional and mental consequences. Management of burns and their sequelae even in well-equipped, modern burn units of advanced affluent societies remains demanding and extremely costly. Undoubtedly, in most low and middle income countries (LMICs) with limited resources and inaccessibility to sophisticated skills and technologies, the same standard of care is obviously not possible. ⋯ The present review is a summary of what has already been accomplished in terms of burn prevention highlighting some of the successes but above all the numerous pitfalls and failures. Recognizing these failures is the first step towards development of more effective burn prevention strategies particularly in LMICs in which burn injury remains endemic and associated with a high mortality rate. Burn prevention is not easy, but easy or not, we have no options; burns must be prevented.
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The aim of this prospective study was to find predictors of patient satisfaction with burn care. Sixty-nine consecutive adult patients undergoing acute treatment in a Burn Unit completed the following questionnaires: the Swedish universities Scales of Personality, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Socio-demographic data and burn severity were registered. ⋯ Variables remaining in the models were: intrusive symptoms, and the personality trait stress susceptibility for QCN; age, education, and symptoms of hyperarousal for QCM; trait irritability for INF; and age and the personality traits detachment and social desirability for GS. In conclusion, psychological and socio-demographic variables predicted satisfaction to some degree, whereas injury severity did not. The low amount of explained variance suggests that other factors, hypothetically related to care itself, determine patient satisfaction as assessed by the PS-RESKVA.
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Multi-variate analysis of burns patients in the Singapore General Hospital Burns Centre (2003-2005).
The Burns Centre at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) serves as a tertiary referral centre for burns management for Singapore's 4 million residents as well as the Southeast Asia region. Our study is a multivariate analysis of all burns patients admitted between 2003 and 2005. A total of 482 patients were admitted during this period with an average annual admission of 161. ⋯ This information will be useful for estimating operation times in the future. Finally, Acinetobacter baumannii was the most common bacteria in wound cultures. There is a need for periodic reviews of wound cultures in burns patients in order to modify the preventive and therapeutic strategies against these bacteria.