Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Heat-press hand burn leads to complex and severe lesions, with potentiation of thermal burn by the crushing mechanism. Management remains poorly codified, and the surgical strategies found in the literature remain contradictory. The objective of our study is to report our experience and define the first burn excision delay through functional evaluation with a Quick-DASH questionnaire. ⋯ According to observations made in our unit and in agreement with Tajima, who first described heat-press injury, the first surgical excision should be performed approximately one week after the accident. Subsequent excisions may be performed to reassess the lesions and complete the debridement, with reconstruction to follow. Multidisciplinary management is still necessary, including early and intensive physiotherapy, psychological support, and assessment by an occupational physician.
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Bromelain-based enzymatic debridement has emerged as a valuable option to the standard surgical intervention for debridement in burn injuries. Adverse effects on coagulation parameters after enzymatic debridement have been described. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of enzymatic and surgical debridement on coagulation. ⋯ Enzymatic debridement in burned patients does not appear to increase the risk of coagulation abnormalities compared with the regular surgical approach.
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Burns are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, especially in low- and middle-income countries, such as Brazil, because there are no routine prevention programs, a lack of adequate legislation and supervision, and care quality in the acute phase is precarious. In most cases, initial care for burn patients is provided by emergency services without specialized personnel, which leaves the majority of cases to general practitioners who have no specific training in initial burn care, which can lead to worse prognoses and outcomes. ⋯ Although the instrument was finalized, other psychometric properties must still be assessed to further determine its validity and reliability.
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In Australia and New Zealand, children with burn injuries are cared for in either general hospitals which cater to both adult and paediatric burn injuries or in children's hospitals. Few publications have attempted to analyse modern burn care and outcomes as a function of treating facilities. ⋯ Comparing children's hospitals and general hospitals, different models of care seem to exist. Burn services in children's hospitals adopted a more conservative approach and were more inclined to facilitate healing by secondary intention rather than surgical debridement and grafting. General hospitals are more "aggressive" in managing burn wounds in theatre early, and debriding and grafting the burn wounds whenever considered necessary.
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Children are particularly vulnerable to scald injuries, and hot beverages/foods are often implicated in this subset of pediatric burns. Burns from instant noodles are common and thus an attractive target for burn prevention. The purpose of this study is to characterize the frequency, demographics, outcomes, and circumstances of pediatric instant noodle burns to guide future educational and prevention efforts. ⋯ Instant noodle burns comprised nearly one-third of all pediatric scald burn admissions at our institution, a higher proportion than previously reported. While less severe than other scald burns in this series, instant noodles injuries still demonstrated a need for hospitalization and operative intervention. Instant noodle burns disproportionately affected Black/African American patients, as well as from neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that focused burn prevention efforts may be successful at reducing the incidence of these common, but serious injuries.