Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Hands are the most commonly burnt body part given humans' innate response to guard their face from injury, and are known to have detrimental functional and psychological consequences. Conflicting evidence exists regarding the impact of hand burns on long-term health status and global functioning. The objective of this study was to identify patient and clinical characteristics that predict health status and hand function of people at 12-24 months after hand burn. ⋯ Women and those with a history of psychiatric illness are particularly vulnerable to poorer outcomes in health status and/or hand function after burns, and may benefit from more intensive rehabilitation support and long-term follow-up.
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Hydroxocobalamin has been available for use for suspected cyanide toxicity in smoke inhalation patients in the United States since 2006. Our study compares outcomes of patients who received hydroxocobalamin to historical controls who did not. ⋯ Routine administration was associated with lower rate of pneumonia, faster liberation from the ventilator, and reductions in intensive care unit stay. Burn centers should consider its empiric use in suspected smoke inhalation patients.
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Bone changes are increasingly described after burn. How bone markers could help to detect early bone changes or to screen burn patients at higher risk of demineralization is still not made clear. We performed an observational study assessing the changes in serum bone markers after moderate burn. ⋯ Considering available data, role and interest of bone markers in management of burn related bone disease remain unclear.
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Hand burns represent a unique challenge to the burns team due to the intricate structure and unrivalled functional importance of the hand. The initial assessment and prognosis relies on consideration of the specific site involved as well as depth of the burn. We created a simple severity score that could be used by referring non-specialists and researchers alike. ⋯ A receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis found a cut off score of 5.5, indicating that those with a HABS score below 6 did not require an operation, whereas those with a score above 6 did. The HABS score was shown to be more sensitive and specific that assessment of burn depth alone. The HABS score is a simple to use tool to stratify severity at initial presentation of hand burns which will be useful when referring, and when reporting outcomes.
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Sex trafficking of women and girls is amongst the most prevalent and profitable types of human trafficking. Evidence suggests that sex trafficking is especially high in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh where diverse types of burning are also prevalent especially among young females. The aim of the present short communication is to emphasize that among many health issues affecting trafficked women in such countries, burns may also be prevalent among these victims.