Efficacy of transfer form implementation for adult burn patients between institutions to the Israeli National Burn Center.

Burns are serious injuries associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In Israel, burn patients are often transferred between facilities. However, unstructured and non-standardized transfer processes can compromise the quality of patient care and outcomes. In this retrospective study, we assessed the impact of implementing a transfer form for burn management, comparing two populations: those transferred before and after the transfer form implementation. This study included 47 adult patients; 21 were transferred before and 26 after implementing the transfer form. We observed a statistically significant improvement in reporting rates of crucial information obtained by Emergency Room clinicians and inpatient management indicators. Introducing a standardized transfer form for burn patients resulted in improved communication and enhanced primary management, transfer processes, and emergency room preparation. The burns transfer form facilitated accurate and comprehensive information exchange between clinicians, potentially improving patient outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of structured transfer processes in burn patient care and emphasize the benefits of implementing a transfer form to streamline communication and optimize burn management during transfers to specialized burn centers.

The Hidden Danger of Lithium Battery-Powered Electric Bicycles and Scooters: A Case Series of the Israeli National Burn Center Experience.

Electric-powered bicycles and scooters that use rechargeable lithium batteries are an urban transportation alternative and have become increasingly popular. However, in recent years, there has been an increase in patient admissions to the Israeli National Burn Center with burns associated with their use. In this case series of all patients (n = 9) referred to the Emergency Department (February 2016-October 2020) with lithium-related battery burns from electric-powered bicycles and scooters, we present burn depth, size, treatment, inhalation injuries, and hospitalization. All patients were admitted to the Israeli National Burn Center for treatment. The average TBSA was 27.5% (range 3%-57%). All but one patient had a combination of partial to full-thickness burns affecting the upper and lower limbs. Three patients sustained inhalation injuries and a total of four patients required intubation. Seven patients required surgery that included debridement and, in most cases, skin grafting. The availability and increase in the use of battery-powered bicycles and scooters may lead to an increase in injuries and death if consumers are not aware of the potential dangers related to the safe use of lithium batteries.

Standardization of Burn Patients Transfer: Implementation of a Transfer Request Form to Israel's National Burn Center.

BACKGROUND: Burn injuries are an extreme form of traumatic injury and are a global health issue. The Israeli National Burn Unit at the Sheba Medical Center, a tertiary level 1 trauma center and hence the national referral center, treats burn patients admitted both directly and referred from other medical centers. The transfer and handover of patients is a critical step in patient care. In Israel, to date, there is no standardized and accepted transfer request form for burn patients from one medical facility to another. OBJECTIVES: To construct a transfer request form to be used in all future burn patient referrals. METHODS: After reviewing publicly available international transfer forms and comparing them to the admission checklist used at our unit, a structured transfer request form was constructed. RESULTS: After a pilot study period, testing the form in various scenarios and adapting it, the first standardized transfer form for burn patients in Israel in both English and Hebrew was implemented beginning May 2020. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a standardized transfer process will improve communication between healthcare professionals to help maintain a continuum of care. We believe that implementation of a burn transfer form in all future referrals can standardize and assure better care for burn patients, thus improving overall patient care.

A Retrospective Review of an Off-label Bromelain-based Selective Enzymatic Debridement (Nexobrid®) in the Treatment of Deep, Partial, and Full Thickness Burns and Hard to Heal Wounds.

BACKGROUND: Rapid and selective bromelain-based enzymatic debridement provides a non-surgical alternative for the eschar removal in deep burns, which allows for early debridement of large surface areas, accurate evaluation of burn and wound depth, and the need for skin grafting. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of application of a bromelain-based selective enzymatic debridement (Nexobrid®) beyond the manufacturer's guidelines for use in burns > 48 hours as well as chemical, electrical, and pediatric burns, and chronic wounds. METHODS: This retrospective review included records collected between January 2017 and April 2019, from male and female patients aged 8 months to 99 years with deep burns or wounds treated with bromelain-based selective enzymatic debridement. RESULTS: Of the 33 patients who received the bromelain-based selective enzymatic debridement agent beyond the manufacturer's guidelines, 25 (76%) were observed to have successful debridement of the eschar, 8 (24%) were observed to have little effect on the burn eschar. Sixteen required further surgery after debridement. Clinical data on the use of bromelain-based selective enzymatic debridement agents are limited, but these results suggest the capacity to effectively debride burns > 48 hours (late presentation burns), use for pediatrics and for chemical and electrical burns, and apply to hard to heal full thickness chronic wounds. CONCLUSIONS: Bromelain-based selective enzymatic debridement was found to be an effective treatment modality beyond the recommended guidelines including late presentation burns and chronic wounds. This debridement method warrants further consideration when making clinical decisions concerning burn and wound care.

Treatment Algorithm for Hyaluronic Acid-Related Complication Based on a Systematic Review of Case Reports, Case Series, and Clinical Experience.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of hyaluronic acid (HA)-related complications. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review all available literature including case reports and case series to identify a pattern for the management of vascular compromise resulting in facial skin ischemia and ocular manifestations following HA injection. METHODS: This review was based on a systematic search of 3 electronic databases PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus for all available literature including case series and case reports from database inception to July 2019. Only a total of 52 case reports/series were eligible for review and included 107 patients. RESULTS: The reviewed literature available was comprised from case reports/series and indicated that management of both impending skin necrosis and visual disturbances is variable with no repetitive pattern of action. Yet, successful management is time dependent as early interventions stopped progression and, in some cases, even reversed adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Results found no universal protocol for achieving optimal results for adverse effects and as such, we present a step-by-step algorithm for the emergency management of complications following HA injection.

The burning issue of white phosphorus: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Burns from white phosphorus are rare and remain a challenge for clinicians. White phosphorus burns are often associated with smaller surface areas and high morbidity rates. Classed as a chemical burn, white phosphorus is used for military purposes and within industry, for the manufacture of fireworks and agricultural products. CASE PRESENTATION: In this report, we discuss the case of a 40 years old female who sustained 2% Total Body Surface Area partial to full thickness burns from white phosphorus. The burns were treated conservatively with mafenide acetate on the medial calf and dorsum of foot and Flaminal Forte was used for the palmar region. The patient was discharged 22 days after admission and followed up in the outpatient clinic. Despite the use of pressure garments, hypertrophic scarring began to develop on the dorsum of her right foot. CONCLUSIONS: During peacetime, white phosphorus possess a significant danger to civilians. Awareness of the unique nature of white phosphorus among military burn clinicians should be emphasized.

Predicting Refractive Surgery Outcome: Machine Learning Approach With Big Data.

PURPOSE: To develop a decision forest for prediction of laser refractive surgery outcome. METHODS: Data from consecutive cases of patients who underwent LASIK or photorefractive surgeries during a 12-year period in a single center were assembled into a single dataset. Training of machine-learning classifiers and testing were performed with a statistical classifier algorithm. The decision forest was created by feature vectors extracted from 17,592 cases and 38 clinical parameters for each patient. A 10-fold cross-validation procedure was applied to estimate the predictive value of the decision forest when applied to new patients. RESULTS: Analysis included patients younger than 40 years who were not treated for monovision. Efficacy of 0.7 or greater and 0.8 or greater was achieved in 16,198 (92.0%) and 14,945 (84.9%) eyes, respectively. Efficacy of less than 0.4 and less than 0.5 was achieved in 322 (1.8%) and 506 (2.9%) eyes, respectively. Patients in the low efficacy group (< 0.4) had statistically significant differences compared with the high efficacy group (≥ 0.8), yet were clinically similar (mean differences between groups of 0.7 years, of 0.43 mm in pupil size, of 0.11 D in cylinder, of 0.22 logMAR in preoperative CDVA, of 0.11 mm in optical zone size, of 1.03 D in actual sphere treatment, and of 0.64 D in actual cylinder treatment). The preoperative subjective CDVA had the highest gain (most important to the model). Correlations analysis revealed significantly decreased efficacy with increased age (r = -0.67, P < .001), central corneal thickness (r = -0.40, P < .001), mean keratometry (r = -0.33, P < .001), and preoperative CDVA (r = -0.47, P < .001). Efficacy increased with pupil size (r = 0.20, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This model could support clinical decision making and may lead to better individual risk assessment. Expanding the role of machine learning in analyzing big data from refractive surgeries may be of interest. [J Refract Surg. 2017;33(9):592-597.].

Pseudoexfoliation: An Ocular Finding with Possible Systemic Implications.

BACKGROUND: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PES) is a common age-related disorder affecting 60-70 million people worldwide. Patients with PES have abnormal production and deposition of fibrillar material in the anterior chamber of the eye. These exfoliated fibrils, easily detected by ocular slit-lamp examination, have also been found to exist systematically in the skin, heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. Recently, myriad studies have associated PES with systemic conditions such as increased vascular risk, risk of dementia and inflammatory state. We review here the most current literature on the systemic implications of PES. Our aim is to encourage further studies on this important clinical entity.

Treatment of hypergranulation tissue in burn wounds with topical steroid dressings: a case series.

Hypergranulation tissue (or also known as overgranulation) may negatively influence burn wound healing time and contribute to recurrence of contractures in burn wounds and grafts. Subsequently, the treatment of hypergranulation tissue remains controversial and problematic. In this case series, we aimed to examine the feasibility and document the use of topical hydrocortisone in the treatment of hypergranulation tissue formation resulting from burn wounds. We report five cases where hypergranulation tissue developed following deep dermal/full-thickness burns. Initial burn wound treatment included necrotic tissue debridement, wound cleansing, and Flaminal(®). All five cases underwent surgical debridement and split-skin grafting. Upon identification of hypergranulation tissue, hydrocortisone acetate 0.25% was applied topically as usual care for the treatment of hypergranulation tissue. All five patients had deep dermal/full-thickness burns with a total body surface area ranging from 22% to 61% and were aged from 3-41 years. All five cases developed hypergranulation tissue during their admission after debridement and split-thickness skin grafts. All patients showed an improvement in the treated areas with a complete regression of hypergranulation tissue and closure of the burn wounds. No clinically apparent local or systemic side effects of the treatment were observed. Topical hydrocortisone can be utilized as an effective, inexpensive, and noninvasive practical option in the treatment of hypergranulation tissue resulting from burn wounds.