J Trauma
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Comparative Study
Comparison of serial debridement and autografting and early massive excision with cadaver skin overlay in the treatment of large burns in children.
Thirty-two children admitted from 1977 through 1981 were treated by serial debridement of their burn wounds with 1:1.5 to 3:1 meshed autografting of granulating tissue as it became available. Thirty-two burned children treated from 1981 to 1984 were treated by early total excision to fascia with application of 4:1 expanded autograft and cadaver skin for complete closure. The ages (6.8 +/- 0.6 years), sex distribution, and mean per cent third-degree burn (64 +/- 1%) were the same in both groups. ⋯ Overall operating time (10.3 +/- 0.8 hours) and units of blood loss (28.3 +/- 3.5) were indistinguishable in the survivors of both groups. The survivors of the early excision group underwent fewer operative procedures, (5.8 +/- 0.5 vs. 7.6 +/- 0.5) and had a greatly decreased length of hospital stay (57 +/- 5 vs. 97 +/- 8). The ultimate functional and aesthetic consequences of the two techniques must be compared.
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A retrospective analysis of 1,018 consecutive admissions with cutaneous burn injury over 32 months was carried out. Mortality probabilities as related to age, per cent TBSA burn, and presence of inhalation injury are presented. Incidence of and mortality from inhalation injury both rose with increasing burn area. The incidence of inhalation injury also rose with advancing age; mortality was lowest in the 5- to 14-year old age group and highest in those more than 59 years of age.
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Comparative Study
Fluid resuscitation after an otherwise fatal hemorrhage: I. Crystalloid solutions.
One half of deaths among trauma victims occur within 1 hour of injury and are due to rapid hemorrhage or CNS trauma. We developed a rapid hemorrhage model in unanesthetized swine to simulate human exsanguination. We compared the ability of four crystalloid solutions to prevent death after an otherwise fatal hemorrhage: normal saline (NS), Ringer's lactate (RL), Plasmalyte-A (PA), and Plasmalyte-R (PR). ⋯ Aortic blood (54 ml/kg) was removed in 15 minutes from 116 swine. The percentages of shed blood replaced were 14% in 5 minutes with NS, 100% in 20 minutes with NS, and 300% in 30 minutes with NS, RL, PA, or PR. We found that all mortalities were determined within 2 hours after hemorrhage and that RL provided the best survival rate of 67% (NS 300% = 50%, PR = 40%, and PA = 30%.) After an analysis of arterial blood gas, lactate, acid-base, heart rate, and aortic pressure measurements, we conclude that RL is the superior crystalloid solution because of its decreased chloride load (compared to NS) and because of the absence of acetate or magnesium (compared to PA and PR).
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Comparative Study
Whole body oxygen utilization during acute carbon monoxide poisoning and isocapneic nitrogen hypoxia.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning occurs frequently in victims of enclosed space fires, resulting in the formation of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). Based on in vitro studies it has been suggested that CO poisoning causes a left shift of the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve, decreasing peripheral oxygen extraction and exacerbating hypoxic injury. Formation of carboxycytochrome oxidase has also been postulated to act as a toxin by blocking cellular oxygen utilization. ⋯ These findings suggest that CO poisoning is primarily a hypoxic lesion caused by replacement of O2Hb by COHb. Effects predicted from in vitro studies may not be manifest in vivo due to physiologic responses active in the whole organism. This may have implications for the resuscitation of CO-injured patients.
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Ninety-four electrical burn patients were treated in a 5-year period at our center. The majority of these patients were males, in both children and adults, with the cause of injury mainly due to misuse, inattentiveness, lack of knowledge, and lack of parental supervision. ⋯ In order to decrease these complications, a closer monitoring of the patient and early surgical decompression must be applied. Therefore, to prevent this life-threatening event, measures should be taken by health-care officials and physicians to help educate the public in electrical burn prevention through every available means of communication.