Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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The early diagnosis of infection or sepsis in burns are important for patient care. Globally, a large number of burn centres advocate quantitative cultures of wound biopsies for patient management, since there is assumed to be a direct link between the bioburden of a burn wound and the risk of microbial invasion. Given the conflicting study findings in this area, a systematic review was warranted. ⋯ The evidence base for the utility and reliability of quantitative microbiology for diagnosing or predicting clinical outcomes in burns patients is limited and often poorly reported. Consequently future research is warranted.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Hypnosis for reduction of background pain and pain anxiety in men with burns: A blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled study.
'Background pain' and 'pain anxiety' are among the numerous problems of patients with burns. Non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions have been used to reduce background pain and pain anxiety. This study compared the effectiveness of hypnosis and 'neutral hypnosis' (as a placebo in the control group) in decreasing the background burn pain and pain anxiety of adult male survivors with burns. ⋯ Hypnosis is effective in reducing background pain quality and pain anxiety of men with burns.
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Multicenter Study
Relationship between multidisciplinary critical care and burn patients survival: A propensity-matched national cohort analysis.
The aims of this study are: firstly, to investigate if admission to specialized burn critical care units leads to better clinical outcomes; secondly, to elucidate if the multidisciplinary critical care contributes to this superior outcome. ⋯ Admission to a specialized burn critical care service is independently associated with significant survival benefit. This is, at least in part, due to care being provided by a fully integrated multidisciplinary team.
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Comparative Study
Prospective comparative evaluation study of Laser Doppler Imaging and thermal imaging in the assessment of burn depth.
The accurate assessment of burn depth is challenging but crucial for surgical excision and tissue preservation. Laser Doppler Imaging (LDI) has gained increasing acceptance as a tool to aid depth assessment but its adoption is hampered by high costs, long scan times and limited portability. Thermal imaging is touted as a suitable alternative however few comparison studies have been done. ⋯ LDI outperforms thermal imaging in terms of diagnostic accuracy of burn depth likely due to the susceptibility of thermal imaging to environmental factors.
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Around 10%-20% of burned patients have inhalation injuries, and the severity of these injuries is correlated with mortality. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is an important tool for the early diagnosis of inhalation injury. This study investigated correlations between the severity of inhalation injury and outcomes of patients involved in a cornstarch dust explosion in northern Taiwan in 2015. ⋯ Although the explosion resulted in a high rate of inhalation injuries in critically ill patients, there was no significant correlation between mortality and the severity of the inhalation injuries.