Sauna contact burns in adults in the Helsinki Burn Centre during 2006-2018.

INTRODUCTION: Within Finish culture is a strong tradition of sauna bathing. This special environment predisposes the persons refreshing in the sauna to different kind of burns with varying etiologies. Despite the high prevalence of sauna related burns in Finland, there is paucity on the sauna related burns literature. METHODS: In this 13-year retrospective study, all sauna-related contact burns in the adult population treated at the Helsinki Burn Centre were analyzed. Altogether 216 patients were included in this study. RESULTS: The incidence of sauna-related contact burns was significantly higher in males; they accounted for 71.8% of patients. In addition to male gender, another risk factor was high age, with the elderly also being more prone to have a longer length of stay in hospital and more often receiving operative treatment. Despite most burns being relatively small, they were deep and more than one-third (36.6%) of patients underwent surgery. A strong seasonal variation in the injuries was recorded; over 40% of the burns took place during the summer months. CONCLUSION: Sauna contact burns are common, and despite their small size, they frequently cause deep injuries indicating operative treatment. There is a clear male predominance in the patient population. Most probably the cultural aspects of sauna bathing at summer cottages explain the strong seasonal variation in the incidence of these burns. The long latency between initial injury and presentation at the Helsinki Burn Centre should be highlighted to health care centres and central hospitals.

[Burn injuries caused by sauna air]. / Saunailman aiheuttamat palovammat.

Burn injuries caused by hot air sauna burns constitute a Finnish burn rarity. The patients are usually middle-aged men having passed out on the sauna benches under the influence of alcohol. Sauna air causes a deep injury penetrating all layers of the skin, accompanied with necrosis of the subcutaneous tissue and consequent rhabdomyolysis. The initially harmless-looking erythema of the skin rapidly transforms into a third-degree burn. Therapy includes the prevention of kidney damage and surgery. Local flaps are recommended for the treatment of tissue defects caused by destruction of deep tissues and amputations.

Hot air sauna burns--review of their etiology and treatment.

Hot air sauna burns (HASBs) are rare but potentially fatal injuries with simultaneous rhabdomyolysis. The mechanism of HASBs involves prolonged exposure to hot air because of immobility. The burned areas are on the parts of the body that are directly exposed to hot air. This type of heat exposure results in a complex injury, in which full-thickness skin damage occurs concurrently with deeper tissue destruction. Sauna bathing is becoming more and more a popular recreational activity around the world. The objective of this review article is to familiarize burn care specialists on this unique and clinically challenging type of burn injury and to illustrate our department's long experience in treating patients with HASBs. A thorough review of the current literature with PubMed interface using the key word "hot air sauna burn" was performed. Six articles were found under this topic, with 42 patients being recorded. Therapy for rhabdomyolysis and aggressive early operative treatment are the cornerstones of hot air sauna burn treatment and lifesaving actions. Treatment of HASBs differs from the more common flame and scald burns. Hot air sauna burn patients require early and aggressive surgical intervention to treat the rhabdomyolysis. Amputations and excision of the affected muscles are common. Contrary to other types of burn injuries, these patients need flap coverage during the acute surgery phase. Microvascular free flaps usually perish because of damage of vascular structures deeper to the visible burned cutaneous areas. Pedicled flaps are the treatment of choice.

Rhabdomyolysis caused by hot air sauna burn.

Sauna-related burns are rare, even in Finland where sauna bathing is a popular leisure pastime. Burns induced by hot air are even more rare and constitute a very small subgroup of all sauna burns. Hot air burns are characterised by a combination of full thickness skin damage with deep tissue destruction. We report here on six consecutive patients suffering from hot air sauna burns with rhabdomyolysis. All six patients were middle-aged, the majority of them men. Acute excessive consumption of alcohol exacerbated by a hot environment resulted in dehydration and loss of consciousness. Immobility and prolonged exposure to hot, dry air resulted in third degree regional burns with 5-32% TBSA. Rhabdomyolysis was evident on admission. The laboratory values of plasma creatine kinase (P-CK), plasma myoglobin (PM), blood pH, and serum potassium (S-K) during the first five days were evaluated. Aggressive fluid management and correction of acidosis and myoglobinuria were started on admission. Surgical management consisted of early, aggressive excision at fascial level, in some patients involving sacrifice of the upper layers of muscle. Even so, mortality in this small series was 50%. The best indicator of poor prognosis was a highly elevated CK value on the second post-injury day.