Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Worldwide, burns are responsible for more than 300,000 deaths annually; infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. Early identification and treatment of infection improves outcome. Toward this end it's necessary to identify the institutions flora and organisms that most frequently produces infection. ⋯ Burns is a severe trauma that occurs in adult and pediatric patients, has several causative agents and can compromise the patient's life. The burned patient is at risk for a variety of infections. According to the type of infection it is possible to infer the most common causative organisms and their antibiotic sensitivity/resistance which allow a directed early empiric treatment.
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Posttraumatic growth after burn is a relatively new area of study with only a small number of studies that have examined this phenomenon. It is important to understand the presentation of posttraumatic growth and coping in burn survivors, how it changes over time and the components which influence growth so that we can understand how to promote posttraumatic growth in burn survivors. The aim of this review was to assess these three parameters. ⋯ Suddenness of the event, and the severity and location of injury might affect the amount of growth experienced. Overall function, quality of life, social support and optimism, hope and new opportunities are influences on growth after burn, all of which have the potential for improvement through targeted intervention strategies. Further research is indicated in many areas related to growth, intervention and measurement.
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Comparative Study
A prospective intra-individual evaluation of silk combared to Biobrane for the treatment of superficial burns of the hand and face.
An ever-increasing number of commercially available dressings have been applied to treat superficial burns with the aim to reduce pain and inflammation and lead to a fast wound healing and scar reduction. Nevertheless the search for cheap and effective wound dressing proceeds. Dressilk(®) consisting of silkworm silk showed good results for wound healing in regards to scarring, biocompatibility and reduction of inflammation and pain. Therefore it seemed to be an interesting product for the treatment of superficial burns. ⋯ The "ideal" wound dressing maximizes patients' comfort while reducing pain and promoting wound healing. Dressilk(®) and Biobrane(®) both provided an effective and safe healing environment, showing low overall complication rates with respect to infection and exudation on superficial burns of the hand and face. Therefore Dressilk(®), being clearly superior to Biobrane(®) in cost efficiency is an interesting alternative especially for the treatment of superficial burns of faces.
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Paediatric burns make up a significant proportion of burn injured patients seen within the hospital setting and worldwide account for a significant proportion of unintentional deaths. Currently there is limited data on severe paediatric burns requiring intensive care support. Our study aimed primarily to describe the epidemiology of severe burns admitted to the intensive care unit at our centre receiving fluid resuscitation over a 10 year period. ⋯ Referrals to our centre increased from 261 in 2003 to 366 in 2013, however admission rates declined from 145 to 85 during that time period. Currently there is limited data on severe burns within the paediatric population. Our study provides epidemiological data in this area, an important step for developing future prevention strategies.