Recommendations for management of burn patients in context of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

It has been reported from china that burn centers have the highest risk of COVID-19 infection. The virus is highly contagious and damaging and mortality rate as high as 61.5% has been reported. Burn patients have low level of immunity, lack skin barrier and are prone to infections. Due to these facts, they have less ability to fight against the corona virus, so surgical practices for management of burn patients should be modified to prevent the spread of infection and decrease mortality. Keeping these facts in mind, we adopted certain changes in the protocols for management of burn patients at Rawalian burn center, Rawalpindi Pakistan. We are presenting new recommendations which were followed at the burn center during COVID-19 pandemic. These are the first ever recommendations from any burn center of Pakistan since the start of recent pandemic. With help of literature search we identified risk factors for infection during the course of treatment of burn patients. These recommendations include alterations in structural layout, administration procedures, burn patient care like the introduction of telemedicine, online appointment system and use of online messaging applications i.e., WhatsApp, staff training and strategies like online learning system to provide new knowledge regarding COVID-19 continuously. Issues of staff like over work, availability of personal protective equipment (PPEs), and their health-related anxiety and fear should be addressed properly for the prevention of burn out syndrome in them.