Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
-
To assess burn injury knowledge and its predictors among reproductive-age women attending an urban and a semi-rural hospital in Northwest Nigeria DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional study SETTING: It was conducted in the general and paediatric outpatient clinics of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano (urban setting) and the general outpatient, paediatric outpatient and antenatal clinics of Federal Medical Centre Birnin Kudu (semi-rural setting). ⋯ The proportion of respondents with adequate overall burn injury knowledge was high; however, knowledge gaps exist among them. Overall, their first-aid knowledge was relatively low. The urban and semi-rural respondents had no significant differences in first-aid, prevention, or overall knowledge of burn injuries. However, knowledge of the causes of burns and burn complications differed between the urban and semi-rural study locations. Therefore, the clinical settings of this study present opportunities for similar burn-related educational interventions.
-
The incidence of "acid attacks" (vitreolage) is a global concern, with those affected often receiving lifelong medical care due to physical and psychological damage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of several emergency skin decontamination approaches against concentrated (>99 %) sulphuric acid and to identify the effective window of opportunity for decontamination. The effects of four decontamination methods (dry, wet, combined dry & wet and cotton cloth) were assessed using an in vitro diffusion cell system containing dermatomed porcine skin. Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) was applied to the skin with decontamination protocols performed at 10 s, 30 s, 8 min, and 30 min post exposure. ⋯ Quantification of dermal sulphur content confirmed the rapid (exponential) decrease in decontamination efficiency with time. The pH of the water effluent indicated complete neutralisation of acid from the skin surface after 90 s of irrigation. Wet decontamination (either alone or immediately following dry decontamination) was the most effective intervention evaluated, although no decontamination technique was statistically effective after 30 s exposure to the acid. These data demonstrate the time-critical consequences of dermal exposure to concentrated sulphuric acid: we find no practical window of opportunity for acid decontamination, as physical damage is virtually instantaneous.
-
An area of rehabilitation research in burns is the impact of co-morbidities on disease trajectory. Obesity is a comorbidity of increasing public health concern, but its role remains controversial regarding burn injury and physical recovery. Our aim was to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) categories as a measure of obesity at discharge and self-reported physical function (PF) during recovery of adult burn survivors. ⋯ Being overweight was associated with improved and faster recovery of PF scores compared to normal, underweight, and obese burn patients during long-term recovery. Hence, our data suggests that long-term recovery and restoration of PF in adult burn survivors is not compromised by a small excess in body weight.
-
The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) is frequently used to assess scar quality after burns. It is important to be aware of the minimal important change (MIC) and the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) to establish if a POSAS score represents a clinically relevant change or difference. The aim of this study is to explore the MIC and MCID of POSAS version 2.0. ⋯ Results suggest that patients consider minor differences (less than 0.75 on the 1-10 scale) in POSAS scores as clinically important scar quality changes. MCID values can be used to evaluate the effects of burn treatment and perform sample-size calculations.