Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common hospital acquired infection in surgical patients, occurring in approximately 300,000-500,000 patients a year. SSIs occur across all surgical specialties, but have increased importance in abdominal, colorectal, obstetrical, gynecological, cardiac, vascular, neurological, transplant, and orthopedic procedures where either the inherent risk is elevated or the consequence of an infection would be severe. Current prevention guidelines reduce, but do not completely eliminate, the occurrence of SSIs. ⋯ Silver-nylon dressings are a useful adjunct in the prevention of SSI in colorectal surgery, neurological surgery, spinal surgery, and certain cardiovascular and orthopedic procedures. Gynecologic, obstetric, breast, transplant, neck, and bariatric procedures, and surgery in obese and diabetic patients, represent other areas where patients are at increased risk of SSI, but in which silver dressings have not been adequately evaluated yet. Recommendation is made for large prospective studies of silver dressings in these populations.
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Review
Self-burning - A rare suicide method in Switzerland and other industrialised nations - A review.
News items reporting self-immolation by Tibetans have been on the increase in recent years. After examining the corpse of a Swiss man who had committed suicide by deliberate self-burning, we wondered how often this occurs in Switzerland. The Federal Statistics Office (FSO) does not register self-burning specifically so no official national data on this form of suicide are available. ⋯ Our results showed that, on the whole, personal aspects of self-burning in Switzerland do not differ from those in other industrialised nations. Some data, including religious and sociocultural background, were unfortunately missing - not only from our study but also from the similar ones. In our opinion, the most important prevention strategy is to make healthcare professionals more aware of this rare method of suicide.
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Skin is a dynamic and complex organ that relies on the interaction of different cell types, biomacromolecules and signaling molecules. Injury triggers a cascade of events designed to quickly restore skin integrity. ⋯ Exogenous insulin application has therefore been investigated as a potential therapeutic intervention for nearly a century to improve wound recovery. This review will highlight the important achievements that demonstrate insulin's ability to stimulate cellular migration and burn wound recovery, as well as providing a perspective on future therapeutic applications and research directions.
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Review
A review of treatment strategies for hydrofluoric acid burns: Current status and future prospects.
Hydrofluoric acid (HF), a dangerous inorganic acid, can cause severe corrosive effects and systemic toxicity. HF enters the human body via where it contacts, such as skin and mucosa, alimentary and respiratory tracts, and ocular surfaces. In the recent years, the incidence of HF burn has tended to increase over time. ⋯ Whereas, management of patients with HF burns remains a great challenge in some situations. To date, there has been no widely accepted protocol for the rescue of HF burns, partly due to the diversity of HF burns. This paper overviews the current status and problems of treatment strategies for HF burns, for the purpose of promoting the future researches and improvement.
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Medical support of military operations involves treatment of massive soft tissue wounds, thermal burns, open fractures, blast injuries and traumatic amputations under conditions that are often austere and far from supply lines. Military hospitals, as recently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, are designed and equipped for stabilization and rapid transfer of injured patients back to their home nation. These austere facilities are often tasked with the emergency or long-term treatment of local populations when injured or burned, further stressing the medical resupply system. ⋯ Compared to conventional burn dressings, they are easier to transport and store, easier to use, and do not need to be changed as frequently, allowing for conservation of nursing resources. In this literature review, the recent military uses of silver-nylon dressings are examined. The stockpiling and use of silver-nylon as a universal military burn and wound dressing is advocated.