Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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A case study of injury to the feet of children from Sri Lanka due to burning husk is discussed. The hot husk causes deep burns on the dorsum of the feet and spares the plantar surface. ⋯ These burn injuries need to be treated early, in specialized centers, to avoid long term complications. Health education of the public plays an important role in the prevention of these injuries.
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Bathing in sauna has been customary for Finnish people for centuries. However, there are no actual reviews on sauna-related burns in the literature. This 7-year retrospective analyses of 598 burn patients treated in Kuopio University Hospital Burn Unit revealed that every fourth burn in our unit was sauna-related, giving a total of 154 cases. ⋯ A total of 71% of patients were male and 40% of all patients were under the influence of alcohol. The incidence of sauna-related burns in Finland according to our material is 7/100,000, giving a total of 357 patients annually. Hence, there is one sauna-related burn per day requiring hospitalization in Finland.
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Adequate treatment of eye burns is an essential task of rescue teams. Clinical and occupational medicine studies have shown that efficient emergency treatment can prevent severe eye damage, but therapy is frequently delayed or inadequate. When initial therapy has been delayed or missed, several treatment strategies, including surgery, are available that may improve the outcome of an injury with poor visual prognosis. Discussed in this review are common accident mechanisms, causative agents and biophysical/pathogenetic aspects of eye burns, together with emergency and long-term treatment strategies including surgical procedures, and factors influencing outcome.
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Review Case Reports
Anhydrous ammonia burns case report and review of the literature.
Chemical burns are associated with significant morbidity, especially anhydrous ammonia burns. Anhydrous ammonia is a colorless, pungent gas that is stored and transported under pressure in liquid form. A 28 year-old patient suffered 45% total body surface area of second and third degree burns as well as inhalational injury from an anhydrous ammonia explosion. ⋯ Resuscitative measures should be started as well as early debridement of nonviable skin. Patients with significant facial or pharyngeal burns should be intubated, and the eyes irrigated until a conjunctivae sac pH below 8.5 is achieved. Although health care professionals need to be prepared to treat chemical burns, educating the public, especially those workers in the agricultural and industrial setting, should be the first line of prevention.