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The aim of this study is to assess primary burn prevention knowledge in a rural Zambian population that is disproportionately burdened by burn injuries. A 10-question survey was completed by youths, and a 15-question survey was completed by adults. The survey was available in both English and Nyanja. The surveys were designed to test their knowledge in common causes, first aid, and emergency measures regarding burn injuries. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore relationships between burn knowledge, age, school, and socioeconomic variables. A burn prevention coloring book, based on previous local epidemiological data, was also distributed to 800 school age youths. Five hundred fifty youths and 39 adults completed the survey. The most significant results show knowledge deficits in common causes of burns, first aid treatment of a burn injury, and what to do in the event of clothing catching fire. Younger children were more likely to do worse than older children. The adults performed better than the youths, but still lack fundamental burn prevention and treatment knowledge. Primary burn prevention data from the youths and adults surveyed demonstrate a clear need for burn prevention and treatment education in this population. In a country where effective and sustainable burn care is lacking, burn prevention may be a better investment to reduce burn injury than large investments in healthcare resources. Language: en

The aim of this study was to assess both burn prevention knowledge and the effectiveness of educational intervention in alleviating the current knowledge deficit in Zambian youth. In one rural Zambian district, a burn prevention program was implemented in June 2011. Children at two elementary schools completed a 10-question survey that aimed to assess knowledge regarding burn injuries. After completing the survey, children received a burn and fire safety presentation and a burn prevention coloring book. Children were reassessed in May 2012 using the same survey to determine program efficacy and knowledge retention. Burn knowledge assessments were also completed for children at other schools who did not receive the burn prevention program in 2011. Logistic regression analysis was used for statistical adjustment for confounding variables. Between June 2011 and May 2012, 2747 children from six schools were assessed for their burn knowledge, with 312 of them resurveyed after educational intervention since initial survey. Reassessed children performed significantly better on three questions after controlling for confounders. They did better on five questions but their performance on these failed to achieve statistical significance. Children performed significantly worse on one concept about first aid treatment of a burn. A majority of the children demonstrated knowledge deficit in three concepts, even after educational intervention. There is a large variation in first burn knowledge survey performance of children from different schools, with inconsistency between concepts. With half the questions, knowledge deficit did not improve with advancement in school grade. Low- and moderate-income countries (LMICs) face the largest burns burden. With the lack of adequate burn care facing LMICs, burn injury prevention is of particular importance in those countries. This study shows that burn educational intervention could be effective in reducing burn knowledge deficit; however, the residual deficit posteducation could still be large and potentially contributing to heightened burn injury incidence. Customized and integrated educational programs may be proposed regarding the epidemiological profile of burn knowledge deficit from various schools. This study represents one of the few reports on the effectiveness of a burn prevention program in an LMIC. Future epidemiological data will be needed from nearby healthcare facilities to determine whether this program decreased burn morbidity and mortality at the hospital level. Language: en

An open, parallel, randomized, comparative, multicenter study was implemented to evaluate the cost-effectiveness, performance, tolerance, and safety of a silver-containing soft silicone foam dressing (Mepilex Ag) vs silver sulfadiazine cream (control) in the treatment of partial-thickness thermal burns. Individuals aged 5 years and older with partial-thickness thermal burns (2.5-20% BSA) were randomized into two groups and treated with the trial products for 21 days or until healed, whichever occurred first. Data were obtained and analyzed on cost (direct and indirect), healing rates, pain, comfort, ease of product use, and adverse events. A total of 101 subjects were recruited. There were no significant differences in burn area profiles within the groups. The cost of dressing-related analgesia was lower in the intervention group (P = .03) as was the cost of background analgesia (P = .07). The mean total cost of treatment was $309 vs $513 in the control (P < .001). The average cost-effectiveness per treatment regime was $381 lower in the intervention product, producing an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $1688 in favor of the soft silicone foam dressing. Mean healing rates were 71.7 vs 60.8% at final visit, and the number of dressing changes were 2.2 vs 12.4 in the treatment and control groups, respectively. Subjects reported significantly less pain at application (P = .02) and during wear (P = .048) of the Mepilex Ag dressing in the acute stages of wound healing. Clinicians reported the intervention dressing was significantly easier to use (P = .03) and flexible (P = .04). Both treatments were well tolerated; however, the total incidence of adverse events was higher in the control group. The silver-containing soft silicone foam dressing was as effective in the treatment of patients as the standard care (silver sulfadiazine). In addition, the group of patients treated with the soft silicone foam dressing demonstrated decreased pain and lower costs associated with treatment.

The American Burn Association/Children's Burn Foundation (ABA/CBF) sponsors teams who offer burn education to healthcare providers in Zambia, a sub-Saharan country. The goals of this study are 1) to acquire burn-patient demographics for the Eastern Province, Zambia and 2) to assess the early impact of the ABA/CBF-sponsored burn teams. This is a retrospective chart review of burn patients admitted in one mission hospital in Katete, Zambia, July 2002 to June 2009. July 2002 to December 2006 = data before ABA/CBF burn teams and January 2007 to June 2009 = burn care data during/after burn outreach. There were 510 burn patients hospitalized, male:female ratio 1.2:1. Average age = 15.6 years, with 44% younger than 5 years. Average TBSA burned = 11% and mean fatal TBSA = 25%. Average hospital length of stay = 16.9 days survivors and 11.6 days nonsurvivors. Most common mechanisms of burn injuries: flame (52%) and scald (41%). Ninety-two patients (18%) died and 23 (4.5%) left against medical advice. There were 191 (37.4%) patients who underwent 410 surgical procedures (range 1-13/patient). There were 138 (33.7%) sloughectomies, 118 (28.7%) skin grafts, 39 (9.5%) amputations, and 115 (28.1%) other procedures. Changes noted in the 2007 to 2009 time period: more patients had burn diagrams (48.6 vs 27.6%, P < .001), received analgesics (91 vs 84%, P = .05), resuscitation fluid (56 vs 49%, P = not significant [NS]), topical antimicrobials (40 vs 37%, P = NS), underwent skin grafting (35.5 vs 25.1%, P = NS), and underwent any operative intervention (40.6 vs 35.2%, P = NS), compared with patients treated between 2002 and 2006. This study represents the largest, most comprehensive burn data set for a sub-Saharan region in Africa. There has been a statistically significant improvement in documentation of burn size as well as administration of analgesics, validating the efficacy of the ABA/CBF-sponsored burn teams. Continued contact with burn teams may lead to increased use of resuscitation fluids, topical antimicrobials, and more patients undergoing operative intervention, translating into improved burn patient outcomes.

The definitions of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are not uniform despite the increasing awareness of IAH/ACS in burn patients. A short survey including definitions, resuscitation protocols, and monitoring practices was sent to every physician listed in the American Burn Association Directory. Thirty-two of 123 (26%) surveys were returned; 22 (69%) were from verified burn centers. Survey respondents said that bladder pressure indicating IAH is 19.6 mm Hg (range 12-30) and ACS is 25.9 mm Hg (range 15-40). Fifteen percentage of those responding do not include clinical sequellae in their definition of ACS. Bladder pressure is not routinely measured by 22 (69%) burn physicians, and staff at 17 centers (53%) wait until the abdomen is tense to measure abdominal pressure. Tense abdomen, along with elevated peak inspiratory pressures (PIP), is used in most centers (94%) to determine IAH/ACS, followed by oliguria (88%), and difficulty ventilating (78%). Resuscitation formulae used are primarily the Parkland/modified Parkland in 24 (75%) burn centers. Criteria for abdominal decompression is based on bladder pressures alone in 25 centers (78%); 16/32 (50%) use PIP, and 10/32 (31%) staff use other criteria including organ dysfunction or increased lactate. Eleven physicians (34%) advocate percutaneous decompression before decompressive laparotomy. Although most United States burn physicians define ACS as >or=25 mm Hg along with physiologic compromise, bladder pressure is routinely measured by only 31% of burn physicians. Most burn staff do not differentiate between IAH and ACS. Consensus definitions of IAH/ACS are necessary for burn care practitioners to compare research studies and discuss outcomes. Concise definitions will promote understanding of the pathophysiological processes involved and allow us to develop data-driven patient care protocols.

There are few articles about the homeless in burn literature. We sought to determine the demographic characteristics of the homeless citizens admitted to an urban burn center. This was a retrospective review from March 1999 to May 2004. Statistical analysis included chi2 and one-way analysis of variance. There were 1615 burn admissions, and 73 (4.5%) of these patients were homeless. Although the %TBSA affected was similar for the homeless and domiciled patients, the mean (+/-SD) age of the homeless was 44 +/- 10 years and their length of stay was 15 +/- 15 days, compared with 31 +/- 22 years and 9 +/- 13 days, respectively, for the domiciled. Twenty-one (29%) of the 73 homeless were admitted for frostbite, vs 21 (1.4%) of the 1542 domiciled patients (P= .000). Because of the frostbite, the majority (53%) arrived in the winter, compared with 15% in each of the other three seasons (P= .000). The homeless had a higher frequency of acute and chronic ethanol and cocaine use than the domiciled population (21% vs 6%). There was no significant difference between the homeless and the domiciled population in %TBSA affected, nutritional values, and assault frequency. More than half of the homeless patient admissions to the burn unit resulted from assault or frostbite. The homeless were mainly African-Americans and Caucasians, with a higher frequency of ethanol and cocaine use than in the domiciled burn population. Lack of discharge options for the homeless prolonged the average length of stay, leading to increased costs, often borne by the burn unit.

In the early 1990s, the American Burn Association (ABA) started its first burn registry development initiatives. The impetus for the registry development software originated from several directions, including the following: (1) the recognition that national registries were widespread and of proven benefit; (2) growing demands from accrediting institutions, payers, and patient advocacy groups for objective and verifiable data regarding patient costs, treatments, and outcomes; and (3) the shift toward "evidence-based" medicine and the ongoing analysis of treatment effectiveness. The ABA has issued three calls for burn registry data for its National Burn Repository (NBR): 1994, 2002, and 2005. In 1994, 28 burn centers contributed data for more than 6,400 patients treated from 1991 to 1993. The ABA announced its second call for data in 2001 and distributed the published results of more than 54,000 acute burn admissions treated from 1974 to 2002 at the Association's 2002 Annual Meeting. The third ABA call for data was issued in the Fall of 2005. The results are detailed in this report, which provides a summary of more than a quarter million acute burn admissions from 1995 to 2005, representing 70 hospitals from 30 states plus the District of Columbia. Statistics are presented in chart and table format to illustrate such key factors as patient age, burn size group, types of injuries, mortality rates, and average hospital charges by etiology and length of hospital stay. The data presented herein should help stimulate quality improvement programs in burn care, as burn centers compare their performance with the national data and as research is expanded using the NBR. The NBR will be published annually and, with continued refinements to the registry software, should become of increasing importance to clinicians, payers, researchers, and the public.

Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) are increased in sickle cell disease, myocardial infarction, and acute lung injury. The purpose of this study was to determine whether CECs are a prognosticating marker for the development of pneumonia in burn patients with/without inhalation injury in addition to their relationship to proinflammatory cytokines. There were 24 patients: 6 with inhalation injury, 5 with burn only,and 13 with burn plus inhalation injury. CECs were measured by anchored cytometry (Clarient ChromaVision, San Juan Capistrano, CA). In addition, plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, and interleukins (IL)-10, IL-6, IL-4, and IL-2 were compared with CEC levels. Patients with inhalation injury had a significant (P < .001) paucity of CECs compared with the thermally injured with inhalation. There was a statistically significant increase in inteferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and IL-6, IL-4, and IL-2 compared with control patients (P < .01), with a concomitant increase in the number of CECs. The numbers of CEC levels did not prognosticate which patients would develop pneumonia. Burn patients with/without inhalation injury had concurrent increase in CECs and proinflammatory cytokines during the acute phase of injury.

The American Burn Association (ABA) mission promotes burn care, research, rehabilitation, teaching, and prevention. Therefore, we sought to determine recent burn research trends by reviewing 1595 accepted abstracts from the Proceedings of the American Burn Association from 1998 to 2003. This study encompassed a retrospective, descriptive audit of ABA abstracts accepted for presentation, including topic, institution, accreditation status, and presentation. Overall, Shriners Hospitals for Children (SH) provided 31%, non-Shriners burn centers (N-S) provided 53%, international and nonburn center hospitals provided 13%, and multicenter ventures provided 2% of the abstracts. Abstract topics addressed most frequently in this time period were cell biology 271 (17%), general care 240 (15%), and pain 235 (15%). Multicenter trials were negligible from the period of 1998 to 2000 but increased to 3% to 4% annually since 2001. In 2003, 39 of 128 (30%) of U.S. burn centers were accredited and delivered 67% of the presentations. SH abstracts increased from 26% in 1998 to 35% in 2003, whereas the N-S decreased from 61% to 48%. Thirty-seven percent of the abstracts reported prospective studies, 28% retrospective, and basic research abstracts comprised 18%. Four SH and 91 N-S (U.S.) hospitals primarily shared the podium, although N-S presentations decreased annually since 1998. On the basis of 2003 ABA/ACS accreditation data, there was an association between accreditation and research activity. SH and N-S collaborative studies for better patient care are the trend for the future as burn centers pool data and resources.

Calciphylaxis-induced chronic wounds are difficult to heal. The value of vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) was assessed in two patients with calciphylaxis. Two middle-aged females with type 2 diabetes were transferred to the burn unit with a clinical diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis, although the pathologic diagnosis was calciphylaxis. With extensive debridement, antibiotics, and meticulous wound care, one patient had progressive necrosis of her skin from 18 to 48% TBSA, whereas the other progressed from 5 to 10% TBSA only. The patient with the smaller chronic wound healed well and left the hospital at 72 days after admission. Although there was some success with the use of VAC, the patient with the extensive progressive wounds developed a fungal wound infection that did not respond to treatment; she died 78 days after initiation of burn center treatment. Some disadvantages to the usefulness would be extensive contiguous wounds and the lack of an intact skin surface. The VAC system was of value in healing wounds resulting from calciphylaxis.

Fusarium species, or saprophytic molds, are important plant pathogens and recognized as agents of human mycotic infections. Frequently superficial, deep-tissue involvement, and dissemination occurs in immunocompromised hosts with hematologic malignancies, aplastic anemia, and chemotherapy treatment. Presented in this work is a burn patient with a fatal disseminated infection in addition to a review of the literature. A 40-year-old white male acquired a 73% grease scald injury at work. His hospital course was interspersed with multiple episodes of Flavobacterium, Fusarium, Candida, Proteus, Enterococcus, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, and Serratia infections. He underwent nine operative procedures for debridement, excision, and skin grafting. The last operative procedure included bilateral below knee amputations to halt an invasive Fusarium infection that was invading normal unburned skin. The patient died 55 days after injury. Fusarium and Aspergillus infections are frequently confused and do not have characteristic clinical features. With the prolonged survival of severely burned patients, better fungal diagnostic and treatment modalities are needed to improve outcome.

Gastrointestinal complications in burn patients include ileus, constipation, hemorrhage from ulcerations, ischemic bowel, and rarely, perforations. Patients with hypotensive episodes and sepsis are at risk for developing ischemic bowel disease. There have been three reports in the literature of cecal perforation in burn patients. We present an additional case and review of the literature.

Regional burn centers provide unique multidisciplinary care that has been associated with dramatically improved outcomes for burn victims. Patients with complex skin and soft tissue injuries are increasingly admitted to these centers for definitive care. This study was designed to assess current trends in burn center resource utilization. Members of the Multicenter Trials Group of American Burn Association were invited to participate in this retrospective review of all patients admitted to their respective regional burn centers during a 10-year period. Collected data included admission diagnosis, demographics, length of stay (LOS), hospital charges, and mortality. Five regional academic burn centers participated. They collectively admitted 18,246 patients during the study period, of whom 15,219 (83.4%) had a primary burn diagnosis and 3027 (16.6%) were patients with nonburn diagnoses. During this period, annual admissions for the five centers increased by 34.7%, ranging from 19 to 83% for individual centers. Simultaneously, mean burn size decreased from 12.3 to 8.8% TBSA. From 1998 to 2006, admissions for nonburn diagnoses increased by 244.9%, whereas burn admissions increased by 31.1%. Although mean LOS was reduced by >25%, total charges for all patients increased by 37.7% after adjustment for inflation. Nonburn patients had significantly higher mean age, longer LOS, greater mortality, and higher daily charges. This review of admissions to five academic burn centers reveals that these centers are treating more patients with smaller burns and an increasing number of complex nonburn conditions. Nonburn patients represent an older and more debilitated population that consumes disproportionately more resources than burn patients. These data show a dramatic shift in burn center resource utilization and the concurrent evolution of regional burn centers into centers for the care of complex wounds.

Anhydrous ammonia, a caustic compound commonly used in industry, can cause severe burns, even with brief contact. As with other alkali burns, early irrigation to remove the ammonia from burned areas is crucial to limit tissue damage. Two cases of identical exposure to industrial strength ammonia are presented. Each patient was exposed to ammonia liquid and vapors simultaneously when a tank containing this compound exploded. One patient showered at the scene immediately after exposure, whereas the other deferred irrigation until he arrived at the hospital. The first patient suffered minor burns with a 2-day, uncomplicated hospital stay. The second patient suffered 14% total body surface area burns and a significant inhalation injury. He required intubation, mechanical ventilation, and skin grafting during his 13-day hospitalization. Although much is written about the management of chemical burns, few articles address ammonia burns. Aggressive initial management significantly reduces morbidity of ammonia burns.

Medical comorbidities such as renal, cardiac, and cerebrovascular disease are known risk factors for mortality in burn patients. Patients with large burns often require blood transfusions during excision and skin grafting. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the transfusion requirements of burn patients with/without comorbidities. This was a retrospective review of burn patient data between March 1999 and May 2004. There were 1,615 admissions to the burn unit; comorbidity data was available on 1,490 patients. Of these, 383/1,490 (26%) had comorbid conditions upon admission: 85/383 (22%) were transfused; 52/85 (61%) also underwent skin grafting. Most patients (298/383) with comorbidities were not transfused; however, 108/298 (36%) were grafted. Transfused patients with comorbidities had a mean +/- SD age of 53 +/- 18 years old, a 19% +/- 22% TBSA burn, and a length of stay of 29 +/- 26 days compared with patients with comorbidities who did not require transfusion and were 48 +/- 19 years old, had 8 +/- 13% TBSA, and a length of stay of 8 +/- 8 days. Of patients with comorbidities, 31/54 (57%) were transfused in the

The American Burn Association, Children's Burn Foundation, and Christian Medical College in Vellore, India have partnered together to improve pediatric burn care in Southern India. We report the demographics and outcomes of burns in this center, and create a benchmark to measure the effect of the partnership. A comparison to the National Burn Repository is made to allow for generalization and assessment to other burn centers, and to control for known confounders such as burn size, age, and mechanism. Charts from the pediatric burn center in Vellore, India were retrospectively reviewed and compared with data in the American Burn Association National Burn Registry (NBR) for patients younger than 16 years. One hundred nineteen pediatric patients with burns were admitted from January 2004 through April 2007. Average age was 3.8 years; average total body surface area burn was 24%: 64% scald, 30% flame, 6% electric. Annual death rate was 10%, with average fatal total body surface area burn was 40%. Average lengths of stay for survivors was 15 days. Delay of presentation was common (45% of all patients). Thirty-five of 119 patients received operations (29%). Flame burn patients were older (6.1 years vs 2.6 years), larger (30 vs 21%), had a higher fatality rate (19.4 vs 7.7%), and more of them were female (55 vs 47%) compared with scald burn patients. Electric burn patients were oldest (8.3 years) and all male. When compared with data in the NBR, average burn size was larger in Vellore (24 vs 9%). The mortality rate was higher in Vellore (10.1 vs 0.5%). The average mortal burn size in Vellore was smaller (40 vs 51%). Electric burns were more common in Vellore (6.0 vs 1.6%). Contact burns were almost nonexistent in Vellore (0.9 vs 13.1%). The differences in pediatric burn care from developing health care systems to burn centers in the US are manifold. Nonpresentation of smaller cases, and incomplete data in the NBR explain many of the differences. However, burns at this center in Vellore, India were larger, and occurred to younger patients than burns that reported in the NBR. Individualized assessment of care systems are needed when implementing development plans. Language: en

Foreign medical service trips, though worthy, raise questions about efficacy, durability, and cultural sensitivity. A structured intervention by a multidisciplinary team can lead to sustained and integrated changes in the delivery of burn care. The American Burn Association, Children's Burn Foundation, and other donors have sponsored four interventions with the Pediatric Burn Center at Christian Medical Center in Vellore, India. Using qualitative research methods, we report our interventions and changes in burn care in Vellore. Using a multifaceted intervention over 2 years, there are skilled and practiced changes in burn care in Vellore, India. These changes involved changes in medical care, nursing care, wound care, operative timing, patient activity, and rehabilitation. Protocols and student and staff education tools have been developed and implemented. Major changes in burn care were observed by the visiting burn team. These skills are practiced and routinely used. The Vellore burn team reports an improvement in nursing satisfaction, patient tolerance, cleanliness, decreased antibiotic use, earlier excision and grafting, and more efficient care. Educational partnerships to improve burn care can induce durable changes, regardless of local language, culture, resources, technology, and skill. Language: en

Methamphetamine (MA) is a highly addictive drug that is easily manufactured from everyday household products and chemicals found at local farm stores. The proliferation of small MA labs has led to a dramatic increase in patients sustaining thermal injury while making and/or using MA. We hypothesized that these patients have larger injuries with longer hospital stays, and larger, nonreimbursed hospital bills compared with burn patients not manufacturing or using MA. In a retrospective case-control study, all burn patients >or=16 years of age admitted to our burn center from January 2002 to December 2005 were stratified into two groups based on urine MA status. Of the 660 burn patients >or=16 years of age admitted during this 4 year period, urine drug screens were obtained at admission on 410 patients (62%); 10% of urine drug screens were MA (+). MA (+) patients have larger burns compared with MA (-) patients (9.3 vs 8.6% body surface area burns), have higher rates of inhalation injuries (20.4 vs 9.3%, P = .015), and more nonthermal trauma (13.0 vs 3.1%, P = .001). When compared with MA (-) patients, MA (+) patients require longer hospital stays (median 9.5 vs 7.0 days, P = .036), accrue greater hospital bills per day (dollars 4292 vs dollars 2797, P = .01), and lack medical insurance (66.7 vs 17.7%, P < .0001). The epidemic of MA use and its manufacture mandates that burn centers monitor patients for MA use and develop and institute protocols to ensure proper care of this increasingly costly population.

Pseudoephedrine (PSE) is one of the main ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine (MA); approximately 700 to 1000 PSE pills are necessary to "cook" a batch of MA. Steps have been taken to decrease the availability of ingredients needed to concoct MA. On May 21, 2005, the state of Iowa enacted a strict law, making PSE a Schedule V Controlled substance, restricting PSE availability, and sales. Using the same 6-month time frames in 2004 and 2005, we retrospectively compared epidemiological data on burn patients in the year before the new PSE law and again immediately after the law was enacted. Data collected between May 21 to December 31, 2004 and 2005 included sex, age, length of stay, body surface area burn, urine drug toxicity status, insurance status, and cost of hospital stay. Reports on statewide MA laboratory incidents were provided by the Office of Drug Control Policy. In 2004, Iowa ranked second in the nation for MA lab incidents, seizing an average of 120 labs per month. In 2006, Iowa ranked eighth in the nation for MA lab incidents, when only 20 labs per month were seized, an 83% decreased from the previous year. By limiting the availability of PSE, Iowa saw a marked decrease in MA laboratory-related incidents, leading to a drastic decrease in MA related burns statewide.

The spectrum of cement-related injuries encompasses contact dermatitis, abrasions, ulcerations, chemical burns, and burns from explosions during the manufacturing process. The purpose of this study was to compile cement-related conditions seen in two burn units (1999-2005), literature case reports and series (1950-2006) and the (1989-2001) National Burn Repository (NBR). There were 3597 admissions in two Midwestern burn units, of which 12 cases (0.8%) were cement burns. They occurred in men, aged 15 to 64 years with a burn range of 0.25 to 10% TBSA, exposure time of 1 to 6 hours, treatment delay of 1 day to 2 weeks, hospitalization (2-14 days). Literature review of 109 cases indicated that cement-related injuries were predominantly seen in men, aged 26 to 45 years; with a cement-exposure time of 1.5 to 4 hours, treatment delay (1 day to 5 weeks), hospitalization (10-33 days), and healing time (2-7 weeks). There were 52,219 burn admissions in the NBR, of which 44 (0.08%) were cement-related burns; 95% were men with a mean age of 41 years, 6% TBSA cement burn and an 8-day hospital stay. The demographic characteristics of the burn units and NBR cases were similar to those in the literature. This preventable injury occurred primarily in the working age male patient and was associated with long healing times. Public awareness and enhanced manufacturer package warnings and education may decrease future cement-related injuries.

Because of their extensive wounds, burn patients are chronically exposed to inflammatory mediators. Thus, burn patients, by definition, already have "systemic inflammatory response syndrome." Current definitions for sepsis and infection have many criteria (fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, leukocytosis) that are routinely found in patients with extensive burns, making these current definitions less applicable to the burn population. Experts in burn care and research, all members of the American Burn Association, were asked to review the literature and prepare a potential definition on one topic related to sepsis or infection in burn patients. On January 20, 2007, the participants met in Tucson, Arizona to develop consensus for these definitions. After review of the definitions, a summary of the proceedings was prepared. The goal of the consensus conference was to develop and publish standardized definitions for sepsis and infection-related diagnoses in the burn population. Standardized definitions will improve the capability of performing more meaningful multicenter trials among burn centers.

Burn patients may need transfusions, especially during surgery. The purpose of the study was to determine blood bank services utilization at an urban burn center. This was a retrospective review (March 1999 to May 2004) of burn patient data on blood utilization. There were 1615 admissions; 800 (49.5%) of the patients had a type and screen (T and S); 180 of 1615 (11%) were transfused with 1691 red blood cell (RBC) units; 616 units of fresh- frozen plasma (FFP), 399 units of pooled platelets, and 38 units of apheresis platelets. Of the 180 transfused patients, 140 (79%) received RBCs, 11 (6%) received RBCs plus FFP, 23 (13%) received RBCs plus FFP plus platelets, and 3 (2%) each received RBCs plus platelets and FFP. Overall, 3393 red cell units were cross-matched, and 1691 units were transfused for a cross-match/transfused unit (C/T) ratio of 2.01. Seventy-three (5.7%) of 1282 of patients with 0% to 10% TBSA required transfusions; 42 (21%) of 193 with 11% to 20% TBSA; 24 (39%) of 61 with 21% to 30% TBSA; and 62% of patients with 31% or greater TBSA required transfusion (P = .001). As %TBSA increased, more of the cross-matched units were transfused: 37% in the 0% to 10% TBSA to 59% in the 30% or greater TBSA burn. The C/T ratio in the 0% to 10% TBSA was 2.69; only 18% of patients with a T&S received blood. Although most patients who underwent transfusion were in the less than 30% TBSA group, more of the red cell units were used in patients with a 30% or greater TBSA burn. Elimination of admission T&S and cross matches in burn patients with less than 20% TBSA may improve the C/T ratio in this cohort.

One of the complications of thermal injury is the development of scars and contractures during the healing process. This scarring can be devastating, especially when it involves the mouth. The purpose of this report is to describe the construction of an alternative vertical mouth stretching orthosis for vertical microstomia. By using thermoplastic splinting material and a long thread screw, a vertical mouth-stretching orthosis can be custom-fit to any patient's mouth. The device can be fabricated for a pediatric or adult patient for the rehabilitation of a circumferential mouth burn, especially targeting the vertical diameter. When using this device, patients gave positive feedback for comfort and ease of use, with increased mouth mobility and range of motion. This vertical orthotic device provides an economical and comfortable alternative for vertical mouth diameter enlargement to the current five devices available in the literature.

Therapy is very important during all phases of burn wound care in preventing scar contractures, limb deformities, skin graft preservation and healing, and reconstruction. The following review details the#10; course of a paediatric burn injury and outlines the vital role played by the physical, occupational and child therapists during resuscitation, hospitalization and recovery.

Abdominal Compartment Syndrome (ACS) has multiple causes, and decompressive laparotomy has been the most frequent modality to prevent worsening cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal function. This pilot study evaluated the utility of percutaneous drainage (PD) of peritoneal fluid compared with decompressive laparotomy in burn patients. A 26-month review was conducted. Nine of 13 (69%) study patients developed intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) that progressed to abdominal compartment syndrome in 4 (31%). All were treated with PD using a diagnostic peritoneal lavage catheter. Peritoneal fluid analysis revealed a sterile plasma ultrafiltrate with electrolyte and other chemistries reflecting patient serum levels. Five patients underwent PD successfully, and their IAH did not progress to ACS. Four patients with greater than 80% TBSA and severe inhalation injury did not respond to PD and required decompressive laparotomy. There was no evidence of bowel edema, ischemia, or necrosis. All patients requiring decompressive laparotomies died either from sepsis or respiratory failure. Percutaneous decompression is a safe and effective method of decreasing IAH and preventing ACS in patients with less than 80% TBSA thermal injury.

A second potential therapeutic option for the parenchymal damage caused by inhalation injury is systemic administration of intravenous agents. The unique nature of the effects of the burn and smoke on lung physiology and immunology create new opportunities for systemic treatments targeting specific aspects of the response to injury. In addition, systemic therapies could be either isolated or combined with inhalation therapies to achieve optimal clinical response. The two articles in this section of the compendium address different, yet promising, systemic therapies: antithrombin and vitamin C.

The standard method of grafting deep, thermal hand-and-foot burns with either full-thickness sheet grafts or narrowly meshed, thick, split-thickness skin grafts not only leaves a deep donor site, but also becomes complicated by infection, hypertrophic scarring, blistering, and hyper- or hypopigmentation. The availability now of an acellular, immunologically inert dermal transplant (AlloDerm; LifeCell Corp., The Woodlands, Texas) allows the successful use of ultrathin autografts while maximizing the amount of dermis delivered to the wound site. These autografts leave thin donor sites that heal faster and with fewer complications. This case report describes the use of AlloDerm dermal grafts on three patients with full-thickness burns of the distal extremities. Grafts were applied to the hand in two cases and the dorsum of the foot in the third. Range of motion, grip strength, fine motor coordination, and functional performance were quantitatively evaluated. As demonstrated by these patients, cosmetic and functional results were considered good to excellent after the use of AlloDerm grafts with thin autografts.