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Background As a result of improvements in injury prevention, severe burns appear increasingly uncommon in Australian children. Such injuries continue to have devastating impacts, with major consequences for the patient, their family, treating clinicians and the caring institution. Methods A retrospective review was undertaken of Australian children who presented to our institution between 1995 and 2013 with burn injuries ≥30% total body surface area ( TBSA). Results Ninety children were identified. Their median age was 3.9 years and 57% ( n = 52) were male. Most injuries occurred at home ( n = 63) due to fires ( n = 49). The majority received inadequate first aid ( n = 56) and 40 became hypothermic during initial resuscitation. A total of 79% were transferred from other institutions. The median TBSA burnt was 40% and the majority of burns were full thickness ( n = 51). All but nine were managed in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit with a mean initial hospital admission of 43.5 days. Two thirds of children were intubated, over half of those prior to transfer, with 26 having an inhalational injury and 33 escharotomies. Compared with estimated fluid requirements, most children were over-resuscitated by a median of 26.9 mL/kg. There were seven mortalities. Wound infections were common ( n = 65) and 36 suffered sepsis. The median number of dressing changes was 13 (range 0-100), operations were six and packed cells transfused was 95.7 mL/kg. Overall, 54 developed hypertrophic scarring and 45 scar contractures that have required subsequent reconstructive surgery. Conclusion Severe burn injuries in children have significant morbidity and mortality. They would appear expensive to manage and impact substantially on health care resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biobrane™ is a product used for temporary wound coverage post major paediatric burn wound debridement. We report two cases of necrotic ulceration associated with the use of Biobrane™ with skin staples. We suggest securing Biobrane™ with alternatives such as adhesive tapes and glue to prevent the occurrence of this adverse outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The management of pediatric mid-dermal burns is challenging. Anecdotal evidence suggests Biobrane™ (UDL Laboratories, Inc., Sugar Land, TX) may expedite epithelization, reducing the requirement for skin grafting. Our standard management for burns of this depth is Acticoat™ (Smith and Nephew, St. Petersburg, Fl, USA). No publications are known to compare Biobrane™ to Acticoat™ for treatment of mid-dermal burns., Methods: A prospective, randomised controlled pilot study was conducted, comparing Biobrane™ to Acticoat™ for mid-dermal burns affecting ≥ 1% Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) in children. Mid-dermal burns were confirmed using Laser Doppler Imaging within 48 hours of injury. Participants were randomized to Biobrane™ with an Acticoat™ overlay or Acticoat™ alone., Results: 10 participants were in each group. Median age and TBSA were similar; 2.0 (Biobrane™) and 1.5 years (Acticoat™), 8% (Biobrane™) and 8.5% TBSA (Acticoat™). Use of Biobrane™ had higher infection rates (6 children versus 1) (P = 0.057) and more positive wound swabs, although not significant (7 children versus 4) (P = 0.37). Healing time was shorter in the Biobrane™ group, this was not significant (19 days versus 26.5 days, P = 0.18). Median dressing changes were similar (5 versus 5.5) (P = 0.56). Skin grafting requirement was greater in the Acticoat™ group (7 versus 4 children, P = 0.37) and similar in % TBSA (1.75% TBSA)., Conclusion: This pilot study suggests that the use of Biobrane™ for mid-dermal burns in children may be associated with increased risk of infection but appears to decrease the time to healing and therefore the need for skin grafting compared to Acticoat™ alone., Competing Interests: None.

In developed countries, in the twenty-first century, severe, large total body surface area (TBSA) burn injuries in children are rare. Prevention campaigns, education and public health interventions have significantly decreased the number of children sustaining burn injuries as well as the severity of such injuries. Many technological medical and surgical advances have been developed in burn care over the past several decades, increasing survival. Despite these interventions, long-term survival post burn injury may still be significantly reduced.