Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Of 4357 home accidents in a 1-year period related to products, a total of 338 burn injuries were prospectively studied with respect to age, sex, the time and cause of the burn accident and the product involved in the burn injury. The survey showed the highest incidence (26 per cent) in the age group 0-5 years and that most burns were caused by scalds or contact. ⋯ Activities related to cooking and making/drinking hot beverages constitute the majority of the domestic burns. A trend of more burns occurring during the weekends and the dark winter was found, but monthly or seasonal differences were not significant (0.10 less than P less than 0.20 and 0.20 less than P less than 0.30).
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Comparative Study
Histological and bacteriological studies of burn wounds treated with boiled potato peel dressings.
Histological and clinical studies have been made on comparable burn wounds covered with either boiled potato peels affixed to gauze bandages or gauze dressings alone; both dressings were applied over a thin layer of 5 per cent silver sulphadiazine. Compared with treatment with plain gauze dressings, the application of the potato peel dressing reduced or eliminated dessication, permitted the survival of superficial skin cells and hastened epithelial regeneration. Bacteriological studies showed that the potato peels had no intrinsic antibacterial activity, the wounds beneath both dressings showing either no growth or, on most occasions, the same bacterial species. The easy availability of potato peels and gauze bandages on to which they can be affixed, the simplicity of the preparation of this dressing, the ease of sterilization and its low cost of production make this the dressing of choice for burn wounds in our developing country.
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The authors analysed a subset of data from the New England Regional Burn Program (NERBP) to describe the epidemiology of burn injuries for children aged from birth to 19 years in the six-state New England area of the USA. The subset of the NERBP data analysed pertained to residents of the six New England states who were admitted to hospital for the treatment of a burn injury sustained between 1 July 1978 and 30 June 1979. Analysis of the data revealed that 1128 (41 per cent) of the 2742 hospitalized burns identified occurred to persons between the ages of birth and 19 years, yielding an overall burn incidence rate of 30.7 burns per 100,000 person-years. ⋯ Children in Massachusetts experienced the highest overall burn rate among the six New England states; the lowest rate occurred in New Hampshire. Overall, 63 per cent of the burns occurred in a residential setting. The most common activities related to burn injury were food preparation and food consumption, which accounted for 471 (42 per cent) of the burn injuries.
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A reproducible deep partial skin thickness burn model using guinea-pigs to study the healing process of this injury is described. Round aluminium templates heated to 75 degrees C and applied for 5 s to the moistened, clipped and depilated dorsal skin produced the desired depth of injury. This model is applicable for the study of the three main components of the burn wound healing process: epithelialization, contraction and scar formation. It is recommended that the India ink injection technique be used to confirm the depth of the burn wound.