Annals of burns and fire disasters最新文献

Burns are a major public health issue. Psychiatric issues require special attention. According to research, lowering stigma and anxiety and raising self-esteem are efficient ways to encourage the social reintegration of burn patients. The current study was aimed at investigating the association between burn patients' anxiety, depression, low self-esteem levels and the total body surface area (TBSA) affected by burn injuries. This single-center, cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2022. A sample size of 200 burn patients was calculated. Any patient with a prior psychiatric diagnosis was disqualified from the trial except for nicotine dependency. The patients were evaluated for anxiety, depression and self-esteem using specific scales. The data were tabulated and statistically analyzed using SPSS 25.0. There was male predominance as 55% (n=110) of participants were males. The age range was 18-70 years, and the average age of participants was 36.4±8.6 years. About 68.50% of participants were married, 29.50% were unmarried and 2% were divorced/widowed. Men tended to experience anxiety symptoms more frequently. More than half (58.0%) suffered from burns involving 20-39% of total body surface area (TBSA). No significant relationship was found between TBSA and anxiety, depression or self-esteem. Psychiatric issues are highly prevalent in burn victims. More research is necessary to determine the extent and determinants of psychological issues in burn patients.

Ocular burns can have three origins: chemical (by acid or alkaline agents), luminous (by ultraviolet radiation) or thermal. We report the cases of eight patients with ocular burns (3 thermal and 5 chemical). Of these, one patient had a grade 2 burn according to the Dua classification, two had grade 3 damage and one had grade 4. One patient had grade 3 damage in the right eye and grade 4 in the left eye. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) was performed in two patients, showing corneal de-epithelialization, corneal thickening and a hyper-reflective line in the posterior stroma. All patients received medical treatment with topical antibiotics, topical corticosteroids, cycloplegics and wetting agents. Five patients had outpatient treatment with clinical improvement. Three patients were hospitalized, one of whom received an amniotic membrane graft (AMG), one had an AMG followed by a transfixing keratoplasty (TK), and the other is scheduled for a TK. Ocular burns are associated with significant functional risk, warranting prompt and effective management.

Shewanella putrefaciens is an opportunistic pathogen rarely responsible for human infection. However, it has been reported that it causes skin and soft tissue infections and bacteremia in immune-compromised patients, such as cellulitis, abscesses, bacteremia, and wound infection. It is an oxidase and catalase-positive non-fermenter gram-negative rod that produces hydrogen sulfide. We report the case of a 90-year-old woman, who presented an invasive infectious burn wound associated with Shewanella putrefaciens bacteremia. She was admitted into the burn center of the military hospital M.S Nekkache of Algiers, suffering from 40% TBSA with a history of diabetes. After one week of admission, the patient complained of a high fever. Microbiological culture of the catheter tip was positive and showed pale colonies on the MacConkey agar, non-lactose fermenting plate. Nutritive agar medium culture showed red pale tan colonies with a concentration >10³ CFU. Identification and antibiotic susceptibility were obtained by the Phoenix system (Becton-Dickinson, USA) as Shewanella putrefaciens. This was confirmed by standards and semi-automated microbiological techniques. Gram stain showed Gram-negative bacilli with positive oxidase and catalase reactions. Production of hydrogen sulfide was confirmed by the semi-automated API 20NE method (biomerieux, France). The isolate was resistant to gentamicin, amikacin, ceftazidime, aztreonam, amoxicillin- clavulanic acid, cefepime, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and nitrofurantoin. In our case, S. putrefaciens was found in a mixed culture with Klebsiella pneumoniae. No earlier exposure of the patient to marine water had been noticed. Blood culture indicated colonies growth of Acinetobacter baumannii. No further isolation of this bacteria was noticed after treatment. The patient was given imipenem, vancomycin and colistin. Despite our best efforts, the patient could not be saved because of sepsis and renal function failure.

The incidence of extubation failure varies between 2 and 25% depending on the studied population. Few studies have been conducted in burn victims. To determine the incidence, causes, risk factors and outcome of burned patients after a failed extubation, a retrospective single-center case-control study was conducted over a period of 3 years (January 2018-December 2021). All burned patients aged over 16, ventilated for at least 24 hours and having had at least one extubation attempt were included. Extubation failure was defined as the need for re-intubation within 48 hours. Eighty-eight patients had planned extubation. These patients were divided into 2 groups comparable in terms of age and sex. Failure group: including patients with failed extubation (N= 34) and a success group (N= 64) including patients who succeeded. The incidence of extubation failure was 36.6%. Hypophosphatemia, anemia <8g/dl, duration of mechanical ventilation of 8,5 days and abundant secretions during extubation were identified as risk factors for extubation failure (p<0.05). The main cause of failure was retention of secretion (50%). Extubation failure was associated with prolonged length of stay (34 vs. 19 days, P= 0.005), increased infectious complications (P=0.007) and mortality rate (79.4%, 1.5%, P<0.001).

Susceptibility to infection and increased antibiotic resistance place burn patients at risk of infection caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO). This condition can progress to sepsis, which can increase morbidity and mortality. A retrospective cohort study using medical record data of patients treated at RSUPN dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo in the period January 2020 to June 2022 was conducted. Of a total 160 subjects in the study period, 82.5% were aged <60 years, 16.88% had comorbidities, the most common cause of burns was fire (86.25%), the use of medical devices was 90.63%, with a median length of stay of 14 days. The most common Gram-negative MDRO pathogens were K. pneumoniae (29.91%), Enterobacter sp (22.32%) and Acinetobacter (20.54%): 45% of MDRO infected patients died. Bivariate analysis was conducted to find the effect of MDRO infection on burn patient mortality (RR 1,103; 95% CI 1,004-1,211, p=0.046). After adjusting for the role variables, namely: age, comorbidities, TBSA, use of medical devices, length of stay and multivariate analysis, it was found that the variables that had an effect on MDRO infection mortality were length of stay and age. MDRO infection has an effect on the mortality rate of burn patients. Mortality of burn patients due to MDRO infection is greater (45%) compared to non MDRO (21.43%). The most common Gram-negative MDRO pathogen is K. pneumoniae.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics and prognostic value of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with severe burns. A retrospective study was conducted on 245 burn patients over 18 years old without comorbidity or combined injury, burn extent ≥20% TBSA, hospitalized within 24 hours after burn. The collected criteria included patient characteristics, NLR on admission, 3^rd and 7^th day after burn, and outcome. The results showed that NLR was higher than the normal value at all collected times. In addition, compared to the survivor group, NLR on admission, 3^rd and 7^th day after burn was significantly higher in the mortality group (p <.01). Multivariate analysis found that the NLR on the 7^th day postburn was an independent factor associated with mortality (p <.05), along with the increase in age, burn extent, and presence of inhalation injury (AUC = .85; cut off: 14.13; sensitivity: 75% and specificity: 83.43%). In conclusion, NLR on the 7^th day post burn may be used as a predictive factor for mortality amongst severe burn patients.

Electrical burn injuries (EBI) affect both adults and children and are responsible for a very high number of major limb amputations. Their management is still a major challenge. This retrospective review concerns 42 children, admitted to an intensive burn care department in Tunisia for high electrical burns, from January 2016 to September 2022. The average age of our patients was 12 years, with a male predominance (90.5%). Electrotrauma was accidental in the majority of cases (93%) and secondary to a domestic accident in 54.8% of cases. Total body surface area was 19%. Burns were second degree in 2/3 of cases and third degree in 1/3 of cases. The most affected areas were distal extremities in 2/3 of the cases. Rhabdomyolysis was observed in 93% of cases and troponins were elevated in half of the patients. Escharotomy was required in 38% of cases. Amputation was performed in 18 children (43%): one limb (n=10); 2 limbs (n=6) and 3 limbs (n=2). The outcome was favorable in 9 children (21.4%); functional and cosmetic sequelae with an impact on schooling and psychology were reported in 25 cases. Mortality was 16.7%.

When compared to standard surgical management, rapid enzymatic debridement of deep burns reduces the need for surgery while achieving similar long-term results. However, few studies have directly compared the costs of standard surgical and enzymatic burn care. We conducted a study comparing the care costs of 44 adult burn patients treated before (n=22) and after (n=22) introducing rapid bromelain-based enzymatic debridement (BED) of deep burns. Mean age was 59 years, 54% were male, and mean total body surface area (TBSA) was 23.5%. Burn etiology included flame and scalding burns (8). Groups treated with standard of care and enzymatic debridement were comparable in terms of age, sex and TBSA. Burn management with BED significantly reduced total debridement costs as well as grand total costs when compared with traditional surgical care. Such reduction was mostly related to lower costs associated with reduced surgical care and less facilities and resources consumption in the BED group.

Loss of sensitivity in the operated area is common after some plastic surgery procedures and promotes accidental trauma on a daily basis. Several studies showed that a loss of sensitivity is constant after an abdominoplasty. We report here the cases of three 3^rd degree burns by contact, at the subumbilical level, with a hot water bottle soon after an abdominoplasty, responsible for significant aesthetic sequelae.

Diabetes causes peripheral neuropathy with loss of sensitivity of feet to pain, predisposing diabetic patients to a high risk of severe burns. Our retrospective study aimed to look at epidemiological, clinical, therapeutic and outcome characteristics of feet burns occurring in patients with diabetes, hospitalized in the burn trauma center of Tunis over 4 years (from 2019 to 2022). We included 34 patients, among which 9 had only feet burns. Their mean age was 60 years (range: 41-83 years), with male predominance (sex ratio = 1.83). A quarter of patients (n=9) were on oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) and more than half (n= 18) were at the stage of degenerative complications. At admission, blood glucose level was higher than 10 mmol/l in 73% of patients. TBSA was 19%. Twenty-two patients had deep feet burns, among which 5 patients underwent aponerrotomy for deep, circular burns. Amputation was done in 15 patients: toes (n=9), one limb (n=3) and two limbs (n=3). Duration of ICU stay was 18.3 days and mortality was 20.58%.