Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
-
Severe burns induce a complex systemic inflammatory response characterized by a typical prolonged acute phase response (APR) that starts approximately 4-8h after-burn and persists for months up to a year after the initial burn trauma. During this APR, acute phase proteins (APPs), including C-reactive protein (CRP) and complement (e.g. ⋯ Although the APR is necessary for proper wound healing, a prolonged APR can induce local tissue damage, hamper the healing process and cause negative systemic effects in several organs, including the heart, lungs, kidney and the central nervous system. In this review, we will discuss the role of the APR in burns with a specific focus on complement.
-
Comparative Study Observational Study
Total body and hand surface area: Measurements, calculations, and comparisons in ethnically diverse children in South Africa.
The aim was to investigate hand surface as a percentage of body surface area from infancy to 13 years of age using physical measurement and digital planimetry and establish the influence of age, gender, BMI for age and ethnicity, specifically in the South African population. A secondary aim included the development of a template for burn size measurement. ⋯ The potential value of the physical measurement method is that it lends itself to direct measurement during examination of the burnt child. The study showed that there are minor differences between racial groups, gender, BMI and age variations. The clinical relevance of these variations is negligible.
-
Posttraumatic growth is positive psychological change that occurs beyond pre-trauma levels. Understanding the relationship between growth, stress and quality of life after burn improves understanding about the nature of postburn psychological growth and associated quality of life factors. This study aimed to determine the nature of these relationships, and whether posttraumatic growth changed over time in individuals. ⋯ This supports the concept that PTG is linked to coping as higher growth is reported with more stress, and that depression is a barrier to growth. As patients recover both physically and mentally from burn, less growth is reported. Early identification and management of depression is important to optimise growth outcomes.
-
Information about epidemiology on burns is rare in China. The aim of this article is to describe the pattern of burns in East China during a 10-year time period. ⋯ Compared with published data, these result are encouraging, which demonstrate that burn care and treatment has made significant progress. Burn clinicians should bear not only the responsibility to treat and cure burns, but also the popularization of knowledge about burn precautions and emergency treatments.