The Clinical Investigation Study of Pancreatitis Developed in Burn Patients

PURPOSE: To find progression and prognosis of pancreatitis developed in massive burn patients through retrospective analysis. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 32 patients with abnormal increase of serum lipase level among 2523 acute burn patients admitted to our burn center from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Pancreatitis in this study was defined as a serum lipase concentration level that is higher than 180 IU/L which is three times more than the normal level (less than 60 IU/L). In this study, a retrospective analysis was performed on patients with serum lipase level higher than 300 IU/L to better understand causality of burns and pancreatitis. RESULTS: 32 patients (1.27%) had serum lipase level higher than 180 IU/L among 2523 acute burn subjects. And 13 patients (0.52%) of these 32 patients had serum lipase level elevated more than 300 IU/L. The study indicated serum lipase level was increased around 7 days after the injury. It returned to normal level early as after 1 to 2 weeks and late as after 4 to 6 weeks of injury. The serum amylase level was increased as similar modality as to the serum lipase level increase. The serum bilirubin, AST, ALT, LD, and GGT were also observed to be elevated when serum lipase was more than 1000 IU/L. CONCLUSION: The pancreatitis developed in burn patients are mostly as mild symptom. It could due to the ischemic injury and can easily be treated by a temporary fasting, TPN, and Gabexate intravenous injection.

Intravenous Colistin Therapy for Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections in Major Burn Injuries

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN)-defined nephrotoxicity in patients undergoing intravenous colistimethate sodium (CMS) therapy for major burns. METHODS: This retrospective study included burn patients who received more than 48 h of intravenous CMS between September 2009 and December 2015. Data collection was performed using the institution's electronic medical record system. Patients assigned to the developed nephrotoxic group experienced aggravation of current AKIN stage during CMS treatment; those assigned to the non-nephrotoxic group experienced no change in current or exhibited improved AKIN stage during CMS therapy. RESULTS: A total of 306 patients were included in this study. All patients were grouped according to AKIN stage: AKIN 0 (n=152); AKIN 1 (n=6); AKIN 2 (n=9); AKIN 3 (n=139). The baseline creatinine (Cr) level was 0.73 mg/dL. The incidence of nephrotoxicity was 50.3% according to AKIN stage; overall mortality was 45.8%. The non-nephrotoxic group consisted of 127 (74.7%) patients and 43 (25.3%) were in the developed nephrotoxic group. In patients requiring continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), baseline Cr level was 0.83 mg/dL, pre-CMS Cr level was 1.17 mg/dL, and post-CMS Cr level was 1.34 mg/dL. CONCLUSION: CMS can be administered without signs of nephrotoxicity for a certain period (approximately 1 week), it can be used relatively safely for 2 weeks. Application of CMS is a reasonable option for treating infections caused by multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacteria in patients with major burns. The caution should be exercised nevertheless.

Prevalence of Malnutrition in Hospitalized Patients: a Multicenter Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is associated with many adverse clinical outcomes. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized patients in Korea, evaluate the association between malnutrition and clinical outcomes, and ascertain the risk factors of malnutrition. METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional study was performed with 300 patients recruited from among the patients admitted in 25 hospitals on January 6, 2014. Nutritional status was assessed by using the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). Demographic characteristics and underlying diseases were compared according to nutritional status. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors of malnutrition. Clinical outcomes such as rate of admission in intensive care units, length of hospital stay, and survival rate were evaluated. RESULTS: The prevalence of malnutrition in the hospitalized patients was 22.0%. Old age (≥ 70 years), admission for medical treatment or diagnostic work-up, and underlying pulmonary or oncological disease were associated with malnutrition. Old age and admission for medical treatment or diagnostic work-up were identified to be risk factors of malnutrition in the multivariate analysis. Patients with malnutrition had longer hospital stay (SGA A = 7.63 ± 6.03 days, B = 9.02 ± 9.96 days, and C = 12.18 ± 7.24 days, P = 0.018) and lower 90-day survival rate (SGA A = 97.9%, B = 90.7%, and C = 58.3%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Malnutrition was common in hospitalized patients, and resulted in longer hospitalization and associated lower survival rate. The rate of malnutrition tended to be higher when the patient was older than 70 years old or hospitalized for medical treatment or diagnostic work-up compared to elective surgery.

Frequency of Burns by Body Parts of Firefighters and Hospitalization Rate according to the Type of Protective Clothing

PURPOSE: Fire suits are very important protective equipment for firefighters. In fire scene, radiant heat and warmed water invade into conventional protective clothing gap. The safety of firefighters has long been a hot topic in Korea. Nevertheless, there are still lack of researches and investigations for safety of firefighters. We revealed the characteristics of the burn site and the hospitalization of injured firefighters according to the wearing of the conventional and special protective clothing. METHODS: This study analyzed the data obtained from the online survey (ko.surveymonkey.com) from September 19, 2016 to October 21, 2016 for nationwide firefighters who are cooperating with the National Security Agency. 4,891 firefighters responded to the questionnaire and 424 burn victims were reported. The analysis was conducted with 322 except 102 incomplete responders. The obtained data was analyzed with Chi-square test (P<0.05). RESULTS: The most common site of burn injury during firefighting was hand 166 (51.6%) followed by face 79 (24.5%), neck 55 (17.1%) and wrist 49 (15.2%). The number of people wearing conventional protective clothing was 81 (25.2%) and the number of people wearing special protective clothing was 20 (6.2%). The number of people wearing protective gloves was 247 (76.7%). In terms of protective clothing in injured firefighters, special protective clothing showed lower hospitalization rate comparing with conventional protective clothing (24.7% vs. 5.0%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The most common site of burn injury in Firefighters is hand. The special protective clothing showed lower hospitalization rate comparing with conventional protective clothing.

The Characteristics of Firefighter Burn Injuries in a Burn Center: A Retrospective Epidemiological Study

PURPOSE: Firefighters are vulnerable to burn injury during firefighting. In extensive fires, conducted heat and radiant heat can cause burn injury even though firefighters are not directly exposed to fire. There has been increasing interest in the health problems of firefighters considerably since Hongje-dong fire of 2001, which claimed the lives of six fireman. However, there have been no studies done on the characteristics of firefighter burn injuries in South Korea. Therefore, we investigated the characteristics of firefighter burn injuries in a burn center. METHODS: A retrospective, single-center research was performed between Jan 2006 to Dec 2015. 24 firefighters came to the burn center. The electronic medical records of patients were reviewed. RESULTS: Flame burns (87.5%) were the major cause of burn in firefighter. All the patients suffered second-degree or third-degree burns. Mean burn size was 6.1±6.7%. 22 of 24 patients were hospitalized and 2 of 22 hospitalized patients admitted to intensive care unit. Mean length of hospitalization was 29.1±23.7 days and mean length of intensive care unit hospitalization was 6.0±1.4 days. The face was the site most commonly burned, representing 25.8% of injuries. The hand/wrist, upper extremity, and neck were the next largest groups, with 19.4, 12.9, 11.3% of the injuries, respectively. CONCLUSION: Firefighter burn injuries occur to predictable anatomic sites with common injury patterns. The burn size was small but, admitted patients need about 30 days of hospitalization.

Evaluation of diagnostic biomarkers for acute kidney injury in major burn patients

PURPOSE: Acute kidney injury (AKI) in major burn patients is a common complication with high morbidity and mortality. The mainstream treatment is early diagnosis and rapid termination and prevention of the underlying insult. Therefore, it's essential to identify early biomarkers predicting AKI. METHODS: A total of 85 patients who were admitted to the burn intensive care unit from June 2012 to July 2013 were included in this prospective cohort study. Ten biomarkers (blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, urine creatinine, cystatin C, cystatin C glomerular filtration rate, AST, lacate dehydrogenase [LD], creatine kinase, lactic acid, and myoglobin) were obtained at time of admission and evaluated as diagnostic biomarkers to predicting AKI and early AKI. RESULTS: Out of 85 patients, 35 patients were dead and overall mortality was 41.2%. The mean age was 49.4 years and mean percentage of total body surface area was 53.2%. Area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve of biomarkers on predicting AKI were 0.746, 0.718, and 0.717 in LD, lactic acid, and serum creatinine, respectively. AUC of cystatin C predicting AKI was much lower at 0.555. AUC of biomarkers on predicting early AKI were 0.833, 0.816, 0.790, and 0.759 in LD, serum creatinine, AST, and serum myoglobin. CONCLUSION: LD, lactic acid and serum creatinine were acceptable as diagnostic biomarkers of AKI and LD, serum creatinine, AST, and serum myoglobin were reasonable as diagnostic biomarkers of early AKI. However, cystatin C was an unfavorable biomarker in major burn patients.

Effect of Plant Extracts Contained Dressing Material Which Is Rich in Procyanidins for Treatment of Deep Second Degree Burn

PURPOSE: This study was planned to evaluate the effect of plant extracts contained dressing material which is rich in procyanidins for treatment of deep second degree burn. METHODS: This study conducted from September 1, 2013 to February 28, 2014. Patients with the deep dermal burn wound which is larger than 200 cm2 were enrolled in this study. The test material was applied total 3 times every 2 days when the wounds were relatively clean, with thin eschar and scab removed and the dermal layer exposed. The test and control sites were treated with hydro-foam equally. The effectiveness was evaluated by comparing the re-epithelialization rates between the test and control sites. Two burn surgeons blindly evaluated for re-epithelialization. Evaluation of adverse reaction was also performed during study period. RESULTS: Total of 40 patients were enrolled. Mean total body surface area burned% was 12.3+/-5.5% and the test material was first applied at mean post burn day # 7.2+/-2.0.The re-epithelialization period was 9.0+/-1.7 days in the test site and 11.1+/-2.0 days in the control site. In the test site, re-epithelialization was 2.1+/-1.0 days faster than in the control site (P<0.0001). There was no significant adverse reaction during study period. CONCLUSION: The plant extracts contained dressing material which is rich in procyanidins accelerates wound healing time and shows the safety.

Changes in the Levels of Interleukins 6, 8, and 10, Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha, and Granulocyte-colony Stimulating Factor in Korean Burn Patients: Relation to Burn Size and Postburn Time

BACKGROUND: Major burn injury induces an inflammatory response that is accompanied by the release of various cytokines. We investigated the gradual changes in the levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines following burn injury and determined the relationship between these levels and burn size in adult Korean patients with burn injury. METHODS: Blood samples from 9 healthy controls and 60 Korean burn patients were collected on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 after burn injury, and concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) were measured. Burn patients were divided into 3 groups according to burn size (15-30%, 31-50%, >50% total body surface area), and the concentrations of the cytokines were compared between these groups and the control group over 3 weeks. RESULTS: Compared to their levels in controls, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-alpha, and G-CSF levels in burn patients were significantly higher during the observation period. Median concentrations of IL-8, IL-10, and G-CSF at each time point increased with burn size, although peak levels and time to peak levels of these cytokines differed from patient to patient. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-alpha, and G-CSF are important mediators in inflammatory changes after burn injury; however, various factors, including burn size, may influence the concentrations of these cytokines.

Changes in the Levels of Interleukins 6, 8, and 10, Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha, and Granulocyte-colony Stimulating Factor in Korean Burn Patients: Relation to Burn Size and Postburn Time

BACKGROUND: Major burn injury induces an inflammatory response that is accompanied by the release of various cytokines. We investigated the gradual changes in the levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines following burn injury and determined the relationship between these levels and burn size in adult Korean patients with burn injury. METHODS: Blood samples from 9 healthy controls and 60 Korean burn patients were collected on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 after burn injury, and concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) were measured. Burn patients were divided into 3 groups according to burn size (15-30%, 31-50%, >50% total body surface area), and the concentrations of the cytokines were compared between these groups and the control group over 3 weeks. RESULTS: Compared to their levels in controls, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-alpha, and G-CSF levels in burn patients were significantly higher during the observation period. Median concentrations of IL-8, IL-10, and G-CSF at each time point increased with burn size, although peak levels and time to peak levels of these cytokines differed from patient to patient. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-alpha, and G-CSF are important mediators in inflammatory changes after burn injury; however, various factors, including burn size, may influence the concentrations of these cytokines.

The Effects of Early Tracheostomy in Flame Burned Patients with Inhalation Injury

PURPOSE: We designed our study to find optimal timing for tracheostomy, and to determine the effects of early tracheostomy on clinical courses in flame burned patients with inhalation injury. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was completed for adult patients admitted to Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital Burn Center, Hallym University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, between March 1, 2004 and February 28, 2009, who were diagnosed with flame burn with inhalation injury and who underwent tracheostomy during their hospitalization. One hundred eighteen patients were enrolled in this study. Patients were assigned to one of three groups based on the timing of tracheostomy: postburn days (PBD) 0 to 7 [Early tracheostomy (ET) group], 8 to 12 [Intermediate tracheostomy (IT) group], and greater than 13 [Late tracheostomy (LT) group]. We compared incidence of pneumonia, duration on mechanical ventilation, length of stay in intensive care unit (ICU LOS), and survival between groups. To assess the effect of tracheostomy on pulmonary function, we analyzed changes of PaO2/Fio2 (P/F) ratio. RESULTS: There were 46 patients in the ET group, 47 in the IT group and 25 in the LT group. Tracheostomy day (PBD) was 5.2+/-1.7 in ET group, 10.0+/-1.5 in IT group, and 14.8+/-1.9 in LT group (P<0.01). Statistics did not show the correlation between the timing of the tracheostomy and the incidence of pneumonia. Also mortality rate in each group showed no significant differences. There were significant differences between groups for duration on mechanical ventilation and ICU LOS (P<0.01). P/F ratio correlated with time flow showed no significant differences (P=0.10). Also there were no differences between groups in changes of P/F ratio (P=0.08). CONCLUSION: In flame burned patients with inhalation injury who require prolonged mechanical ventilation, performing tracheostomy within PBD 7 may shorten the duration on mechanical ventilation and length of stay in intensive care unit.

Serum Lactate and Base Deficit: Early Predictors of Morbidity and Mortality in Burn Patients with Inhalation Injury

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to elucidate whether plasma lactate (PL) and base deficit (BD) are useful early parameters to predict the prognosis of burn patients with inhalation injury. In addition, one of the main objectives was to evaluate if PL and its change, BD and its change due to fluid resuscitation, adds additional information. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed on 151 patients admitted to our burn intensive care unit who were suspected to have inhalation burn injury, and then were confirmed by fibreoptic bronchoscopy between 1 Jan 2008 and 31 Dec 2008. All patients received proper fluid and electrolyte resuscitation, pain management, nutritional support, wound care and surgical debridement of dead tissue by burn surgeon. RESULTS: Initial PL, PL1 (24 hours later) and initial BD show statistical differences between survivors group and non-survivors group. A better chance of survival occurs when resuscitation results in normal PL values within 24 h. Moreover, an outcome predictor of shock and effective resuscitation could be defined by evaluating the changes of BD on Day 1. Normalization of the BD within 24 h is associated with a better chance of survival. CONCLUSION: Measuring PL, BD and their changes may help to identify burn patients either for adequacy of treatment, or selection of other therapeutic options. Therefore titration of burn resuscitation to normalize PL and BD levels may be a reasonable method to improve burn mortality.

Investigation of relationship between inhalation injury assessment and prognosis in burn patients / 대한외과학회지

PURPOSE: Inhalation injury is one of the most severe morbidity and mortality factors in burn patients. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of inhalation injury to the prognosis of burn patients and to investigate the relationship between the inhalation injury assessment and the prognosis of patients. METHODS: Bronchoscopy was performed in 170 patients who had the suspicion of inhalation injury and the patients were reviewed retrospectively from January 2008 to December 2009. Mortality was compared between the factors of brochoscopic findings, age, total body surface area (TBSA) burned, carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) level, PaO2/FiO2 (P/F) ratio. RESULTS: Of 170 patients, 28 patients had no inhalation bronchoscopic finding. 109 patients had mild inhalation, 31 patients had moderate inhalation, only 2 patients had severe inhalation findings. The patients of moderate and severe inhalation findings had higher mortality (48.5%) than mild inhalation patients (31.1%). The larger total burnsurface area in inhalation patients, the greater the mortality. When compared to total admitted burn patients during the same period, inhalation patients showed higher mortality in the patients between 10 to 40% total burn surface area. Inhalation patients whose P/F ratio was below 300 showed higher mortality than above 300. But inhalation patients whose COHb level was below 1.5 had no difference in mortality with patients above 1.5. The COHb level and P/F ratio was the statistically different factors between inhalation patients and non-inhalation group in the mortality. CONCLUSION: Bronchoscopic findings, age, TBSA burned, P/F ratio were related with mortality in inhalation patients. When the international standardization of bronchoscopic classification developed, it can be possible to assess the inhalation patients more objectively and that will lead to the advancement in inhalation treatment and research.

A Clinical Study of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis: Efficacy of Treatment in Burn Intensive Care Unit

PURPOSE: Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), potentially life-threatening skin diseases with organ failures caused by drugs, require specialized intensive care. However, SJS and TEN have usually been managed in general wards and intensive care units by most doctors. This study describes the efficacy of treatment in the burn intensive care unit (BICU) compared to previous general treatments. METHODS: To investigate the clinical features, outcomes and benefits of 11 patients with SJS and TEN treated in our burn intensive care unit. Data on 11 patients who were treated between January 2004 and December 2008 were collected via a retrospective chart review. Also, the data were reviewed with previous literatures on SJS and TEN treatments. RESULTS: Patients were classified with overlap SJS/TEN (n=4, 36.36%) or TEN (n=7, 63.64%). Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were the most common causative agents. Hepatitis was the most common organ involvement in both overlap SJS/TEN (n=1, 9.1%) and TEN (n=4, 36.36%). Renal dysfunction (n=4, 36.36%) and respiratory disorders (n=3, 27.27%) were seen in some cases. Mean time of total reepithelization was 9 days and mean hospital day was 14.66 days. Two patients with TEN died from sepsis with multi-organ failure, and the mortality rate was 18.18%. CONCLUSION: Adequate treatment of SJS and TEN in the BICU supports efficacy with a low mortality rate, short healing time, short hospitalization and fewer complications.

Investigation of the Result of Massive Pediatric Burn Patients: Early Escharectomy and Allograft

PURPOSE: Massive pediatric burns are subject to progress to wound infection and sepsis at early stage. Early escharectomy and allograft made it safer to treat the pediatric burn patients from this morbidity. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the early escharectomy and temporary wound coverage with allograft on massive pediatric burns. METHODS: From January 1999 to August 2010, 55 pediatric burn patients aged 1 to 10 years whose total burn surface area was over 20% were reviewed. Among them, only 19 patients underwent escharectomy (Pediatric escharectomy group, PEG) and 36 patients underwent escharectomy and allograft (Pediatric allograft group, PAG) And 533 allograft patients (Allograft group, AG) aged over 10 whose total burn surface area were over 20% were reviewed to compare with the pediatric allograft patients. RESULTS: PAG was operated earlier (mean 3.6 days from injury) than PEG (mean 5.9 days). The mortality of PAG (8.3%) was lower than the mortality of PEG (31.6%) significantly. And the PAG were operated earlier than AG (mean 5.8 days from injury). But the difference of mortality was not significant statistically between PAG and AG. CONCLUSION: Early escharectomy and allograft is safe and effective treatment procedure for massive pediatric burn patients by preventing wound sepsis.

Treatment of Deep Second Degree Burn Wound using Heterogenic Type I Collagen Dressing

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and validity of the wound dressing using heterogenic type I collagen dressing (Collaheal(R)). METHODS: From January 2010 to April 2010, 46 burn patients with deep second degree or third degree burn wound were treated with Collaheal(R). And we followed up the patients to assess the treatment result with Vancouver scar scale after 6 months. RESULTS: Of the 46 patients, 42 patients had deep second degree burn only and 4 patients had deep second degree burn with third degree burn. It took 18.5 days to re-epithelialize for patients with deep second degree burn and 40.5 days for third degree burn wound. After 6 months, follow-up was performed to assess the wound result. We can observe that 24 patients had mild scar and 5 patients had moderate scar and 2 patients had severe scar. The severity of scar increased as the re-epithelialization period increased. CONCLUSION: It took 18.5 days to re-epithelialize the deep second degree burn wound with collagen dressing. And the long term result was good. Type I collagen dressing can be used for treatment option for the patients with deep second degree burn wound and the patients with small third degree burn wound who cannot be operated.

Necrotizing Fasciitis Following a Small Burn

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a life-threatening soft tissue infection that manifests with a rapid course of inflammation and necrosis of the skin, subcutaneous fat, and fascia. NF commonly follows trauma to the skin, such as a laceration, scratch or insect bite. NF is a surgical emergency and requires both a high index of suspicion for diagnosis and prompt operative intervention. Early aggressive surgical intervention is important for improving survival rates. Mortality and morbidity can be decreased with early diagnosis, adequate and urgent surgical debridement, intensive supportive care, and wound resurfacing. Recently, we experienced a case of NF secondary to a third-degree contact burn on the dorsum of the right foot (1% body area). We report our therapeutic experience in this case, with a review of the literature.

Group Education Program on Quality of Life of Burn Rehabilitation Patients

PURPOSE: This study was designed to compare the quality of life and physical function after group education program in burn rehabilitation program. METHODS: In a prospective clinical trial, group rehabilitation education program was done in 20 burn injury patients. One group pretest-post test design was done. After 2 weeks group education session, we measured stress test, quality of life (Burn specific health scale) and range of motion. Stress status was assessed with objective measurement tools such as heart rate variability. RESULTS: Stress resistance and parameter value was changed significantly (P0.05). CONCLUSION: Group therapy in burn rehabilitation patients could be an alternative rehabilitation treatment for quality of life. In the future, more studies are yet to come how group education program may affect the burn rehabilitation patients' disability.

A Preliminary Study of Attentional Blink of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation in Burn Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

OBJECTIVES: Trauma patients have attentional bias which enforces traumatic memories and causes cognitive errors. Understanding of such selective attention may explain many aspects of the posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) symptoms. METHODS: We used the rapid serial visual presentation(RSVP) method to verify attentional blink in burn patients with PTSD. International affective picture system(IAPS) was used as stimuli and distracters. In the 'neutral test', patients have been presented series of pictures with human face picture as target stimuli. Each picture had 100ms interval. However the distance between target facial pictures was randomized and recognition of second facial picture accuracy was measured. In the 'stress test', the first target was stress picture which arouses patient emotions instead of the facial picture. Neutral and Stress tests were done with seven PTSD patients and 20 controls. In '85ms test' the interval was reduced to 85ms. The accuracy of recognition of second target facial picture was rated in all three tests. Eighty-five ms study was done with eighteen PTSD patients. RESULTS: Attentional blinks were observed in 100-400ms of RSVP. PTSD patients showed increased recognition rate in the'stress test' compared with the 'neutral test'. When presentation interval was decreased to 85 ms, PTSD patient showed decrease of attentional blink effect when target facial picture interval was 170ms. CONCLUSION: We found attentional blink effect could be affected by stress stimulus in burn patients. And attentional blink may be affected by stimulus interval and the character of stimulus. There may be some other specific mechanism related with selective attention in attentional blink especially with facial picture processing.

Effect of Laughter Therapy on Recovery of Facial Burn Scar

PURPOSE: To compare the scar formation after laughter therapy in facial burn scar and to make facial burn rehabilitation program. METHODS: In a prospective clinical trial, laughter therapy was done in 12 facial burn injury patients. One group pretest-posttest design was done. After 8 weeks group laughter therapy session, we measured scar condition. Facial burn scar were checked. Scars were assessed with objective measurement tools such as pigmentation, erythema, pliability, transepidermal water loss, thickness and perfusion. RESULTS: Pigmentation value was decreased significantly: 211.6+/-71.9 to 177.8+/-57.1 (p0.05). Transepidermal water loss value changed from 40.7+/-15.9 g/h/m2 to 37.8+/-15.4 g/h/m2 (p>0.05). Microcirculation value was decreased significantly (0.80+/-0.05 volt to 0.43+/-0.19 volt)(p<0.05). Skin elasticity level (R0) was significantly increased (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Laughter therapy in burn patients could be an alternative treatment to control burn scar contracture. In the future, more studies are needed how laughter therapy may affect the skin condition of the burn injuries.

Rehabilitation of Amputee with Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma Arising from Postburn Scar: A Case Report

A 73-year-old woman who has been suffering from ulcer pain on left lower leg of burn scars visited our clinic for prosthesis rehabilitation. Symptom has been developed since 12 months ago. She burned herself with oil at the age of 40. Biopsy on the skin lesion revealed squamous cell carcinoma. Marjolin's ulcer is a rare but highly aggressive squamous cell cancer that is most often associated with chronic burn wounds. Patient had undergone multiple prior split-thickness skin grafts for recurrent squamous cell carcinoma. She had undergone a trans-tibial amputation and subsequently given adjuvant chemotherapy for recurrent disease. After amputee training the patient was able to walk by herself and could perform all activities of daily living independently. Cancer induced amputees need prostheses with intensive rehabilitation training program for ambulation to prevent deterioration of physical function and mental health due to immobilization. However, she developed another recurrence and decided not to undergo further surgery and eventually died in hospice care due to progressive metastatic disease.