Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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The study was carried out to analyze the factors influencing the elevated serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels during the early phase of extensive burn, and to investigate its potential for sepsis prediction and prognosis. Clinical data of 324 patients with extensive burns treated at our department from July 2014 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Approximately half of the patients (50.93%) exhibited elevated serum PCT concentrations during the early phase, and elevated PCT levels may not be caused by infections. ⋯ Patient age, burn index, APACHE-II score at admission, early-phase PCT level, and sepsis occurrence were risk factors for mortality in extensive-burn patients. During the early phase, approximately 50.93% of the extensive-burn patients exhibited elevated PCT levels, which were associated with non-infectious factors. As elevated PCT level during the early phase predicted sepsis occurrence within 60 days of injury and was significantly associated with patient mortality, it might be a potential burn severity indicator during the early phase of burn injury.
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Facial burns are not only a severe burn injury, but result in psychological disturbance. The improvement of the methods of treating facial burns remains topical. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of approach based on full-thickness skin autografting for facial burn injuries. ⋯ The approach of facial burn treatment based on total full-thickness skin graft allows conditions for engraftment and adaptation of autograft, reduces the risk of scar developing and achieves maximum cosmetic results of treatment.
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Burns are estimated to cause up to 1% of admissions to emergency department in low- and middle-income countries, and up to 220 admissions per 100 K people in high income countries. Knowing the special features in every population could help formulate prevention strategies tailored for the specific group targeted and thus help decrease the incidence of burns in the general population. ⋯ Pediatric burn patterns were found correlate to population, timing, and customs. Mapping the hazardous rituals that may cause burns in different populations, is the first step towards prevention.