Depth of intact vascular plexus - visualized with optical coherence tomography - correlates to burn depth in thoracic thermic injuries in children.

Objectives: Deep thermal injuries are among the most serious injuries in childhood, often resulting in scarring and functional impairment. However, accurate assessment of burn depth by clinical judgment is challenging. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides structural images of the skin and can detect blood flow within the papillary plexus. In this study, we determined the depth of the capillary network in healthy and thermally injured skin and compared it with clinical assessment. Methods: In 25 children between 7 months and 15 years of age (mean age 3.5 years (SD±4.14)) with thermal injuries of the ventral thoracic wall, we determined the depth of the capillary network using OCT. Measurements were performed on healthy skin and at the center of the thermal injury (16 grade IIa, 9 grade IIb). Comparisons were made between healthy skin and thermal injury. Results: The capillary network of the papillary plexus in healthy skin was detected at 0.33 mm (SD±0.06) from the surface. In grade IIb injuries, the depth of the capillary network was 0.36 mm (SD±0.06) and in grade IIa injuries 0.23 mm (SD±0.04) (Mann-Whitney U test: p<0.001). The overall prediction accuracy is 84 %. Conclusions: OCT can reliably detect and differentiate the depth of the capillary network in both healthy and burned skin. In clinical IIa wounds, the capillary network appears more superficial due to the loss of the epidermis, but it is still present in the upper layer, indicating a good prognosis for spontaneous healing. In clinical grade IIb wounds, the papillary plexus was visualized deeper, which is a sign of impaired blood flow.

Dear Program Directors: There Are Numerous Entrustable Professional Activities on a Burns Rotation!

Background: Burn care has long been an integral part of the scope of plastic surgery, but the time allocated to exposure for plastic surgery residents is under threat due to the range of sub-specialities competing for their time. As part of the Competence by Design approach to plastic surgical training, residents are provided with a list of 52 "Entrustable professional activities' (EPA's) to ensure that core skills and knowledge are acquired. Methods: This survey, distributed via email using a link to Survey MonkeyTM, sought to determine which EPA's were available for completion by plastic surgeons in training during the burn rotation at a major academic burn centre in Canada. Via investigator consensus, 26 of the 52 EPA's were included for assessment; the remaining 26 were not regarded as relevant to the burn centre rotation and therefore better acquired elsewhere. Results: Thirty two residents who underwent a burn rotation between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2021 completed the anonymous survey. Seventeen of the 26 EPA's evaluated were judged by more than 75% of respondents as being readily amenable to completion during the burn rotation. Most of these EPA's relate to the comprehensive care of patients with acute burn injuries, the management of an in-patient plastic surgery service, and associated quality improvement processes. Residents who completed rotations less than three months in duration had less opportunity to complete a further 8 EPA's in comparison to those who had longer rotations, especially with respect to the care of patients undergoing complex wound care and burn reconstruction. Conclusions: In addition to threatening seamless service delivery at burn centres, reduced resident exposure to the burn rotation may compromise the delivery of burn care in the community. The results of this survey refute any argument that the burn service is a "low yield" rotation from an EPA acquisition perspective.

Historique: Les soins aux grands brûlés font partie intégrante de la chirurgie plastique depuis longtemps, mais le temps alloué à y exposer les résidents en chirurgie plastique est menacé en raison de l'éventail de surspécialités. Dans le cadre de l'approche de compétence par conception à la formation en chirurgie plastique, les résultats reçoivent une liste de 52 « activités professionnelles confiables ¼ (APC) pour assurer qu'ils acquièrent les compétences et le savoir de base. Méthodologie : Ce sondage, distribué par courriel grâce à un lien vers la plateforme Survey MonkeyMD, visait à déterminer quelles APC étaient offertes aux chirurgiens plastiques en formation pendant leur rotation dans un grand centre universitaire pour grands brûlés du Canada. Par consensus des chercheurs, 26 des 52 APC ont été incluses dans l'évaluation. Les 26 autres n'ont pas été considérées comme pertinentes pour la rotation au centre pour grands brûlés, mais mieux à même d'être acquises ailleurs. Résultats:  Au total, 32 résidents qui ont participé à une rotation auprès des grands brûlés entre le 1er janvier 2015 et le 31 décembre 2021 ont rempli le sondage anonyme. Selon plus de 75% d'entre eux, 17 des 26 APC évaluées peuvent facilement être effectuées pendant la rotation auprès des grands brûlés. La plupart de ces APC portent sur les soins complets aux patients atteints de brûlures aiguës, la gestion d'un service de chirurgie plastique aux patients hospitalisés et les processus d'amélioration de la qualité qui s'y associent. Les résidents qui ont effectué leur rotation en moins de trois mois avaient moins l'occasion d'effectuer huit APC de plus par rapport à ceux qui avaient vécu des rotations plus longues, particulièrement à l'égard des soins des plaies complexes aux patients et de la reconstruction après leurs brûlures. Conclusions : En plus de menacer la prestation harmonieuse des services dans les centres pour grands brûlés, la moins grande exposition des résidents à la rotation des grands brûlés peut compromettre la prestation des soins aux grands brûlés dans la communauté. Les résultats de ce sondage réfutent toute prétention selon laquelle les services aux grands brûlés est une rotation « à faible rendement ¼ selon le point de vue de l'acquisition des APC.

Beyond air pollution: a national assessment of cooking-related burns in Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: Household energy transitions have the potential to reduce the burden of several health outcomes but have narrowly focused on those mediated by reduced exposure to air pollution, despite concerns about the burden of injury outcomes. Here, we aimed to describe the country-level incidence of severe cooking-related burns in Ghana and identify household-level risk factors for adults and children. METHODS: We conducted a national household energy use survey including 7389 households across 370 enumeration areas in Ghana in 2020. In each household, a pretested version of the Clean Cooking Alliance Burns Surveillance Module was administered to the primary cook. We computed incidence rates of severe cooking-related burns and conducted bivariate logistic regression to identify potential risk factors. RESULTS: We documented 129 severe cooking-related burns that had occurred in the previous year. The incidence rate (95% CI) of cooking-related burns among working-age females was 17 (13 to 21) per 1000 person-years or 8.5 times higher than that of working-age males. Among adults, the odds of experiencing a cooking-related burn were 2.29 (95% CI 1.02 to 5.14) and 2.40 (95% CI 1.04 to 5.55) times higher among primary wood and charcoal users respectively compared with primary liquified petroleum gas users. No child burns were documented in households where liquified petroleum gas was primarily used. CONCLUSION: Using a nationally representative sample, we found that solid fuel use doubled the odds of cooking-related burns compared with liquified petroleum gas. Ghana's efforts to expand access to liquified petroleum gas should focus on safe use.

Progress in the application of artificial intelligence in skin wound assessment and prediction of healing time.

Since the 1970s, artificial intelligence (AI) has played an increasingly pivotal role in the medical field, enhancing the efficiency of disease diagnosis and treatment. Amidst an aging population and the proliferation of chronic disease, the prevalence of complex surgeries for high-risk multimorbid patients and hard-to-heal wounds has escalated. Healthcare professionals face the challenge of delivering safe and effective care to all patients concurrently. Inadequate management of skin wounds exacerbates the risk of infection and complications, which can obstruct the healing process and diminish patients' quality of life. AI shows substantial promise in revolutionizing wound care and management, thus enhancing the treatment of hospitalized patients and enabling healthcare workers to allocate their time more effectively. This review details the advancements in applying AI for skin wound assessment and the prediction of healing timelines. It emphasizes the use of diverse algorithms to automate and streamline the measurement, classification, and identification of chronic wound healing stages, and to predict wound healing times. Moreover, the review addresses existing limitations and explores future directions.

A Surgical Experience of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Co-Existing with Post Burn Contractures of Neck.

A female patient in her early 60s was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of right buccal mucosa. Interestingly, the patient also presented with post-burn contractures of face, neck and chest which posed significant anaesthetic and surgical challenges, thus making this case report unique. Through this case report, we highlight the reflections in management of such a case.

LSD1 inhibition by tranylcypromine hydrochloride reduces alkali burn-induced corneal neovascularization and ferroptosis by suppressing HIF-1α pathway.

Background: Corneal neovascularization (CNV) is a sight-threatening condition that necessitates epigenetic control. The role of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) in CNV remains unclear, despite its established significance in tumor angiogenesis regulation. Methods: An alkali burn-induced CNV mouse model was used in vivo. The effects of LSD1 inhibitor tranylcypromine hydrochloride (TCP) were examined through slit lamp, histological staining, and immunofluorescence. The expression of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione (GSH) levels were assessed in corneal tissues. Oxidative stress and ferrous ion expression during CNV were determined using 4-HNE, GPX4, and FerroOrange staining. In vitro, a hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) model was established using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to study LSD1 or hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α) knockdown and lentiviral overexpression of HIF-1α. The effects on HUVECs migration, invasion, and angiogenesis were evaluated through cell scratching assay, transwell migration assay and tube formation assay. The role of ferroptosis was investigated using ROS staining, FerroOrange staining, and key ferroptosis proteins. Further, The JAK2/STAT3 pathway's involvement in CNV regulation was explored through in vivo experiments with subconjunctival injection of AG490. Results: The results showed a substantial correlation between corneal damage and LSD1 levels. In addition, HIF-1α expression was also elevated after alkali burns, and subconjunctival injection of TCP reduced corneal inflammation and neovascularization. Corneal alkali burns increased ROS levels and reduced antioxidative stress indicators, accompanied by elevated ferrous ion levels, which were reversed by TCP injection. In vitro, TCP or siRNAs inhibited H/R-induced ferroptosis and angiogenesis in HUVECs by affecting specific protein expressions and MDA, SOD, and GSH levels. HIF-1α levels, associated with ROS production, ferroptosis, and angiogenesis, increased during H/R, but were reversed by TCP or siRNA administration. HIF-1α overexpression counteracted the effects of LSD1 inhibition. Additionally, AG490 injection effectively reduced HIF-1α and VEGFA expression in the CNV model. Discussion: These findings suggest that LSD1 inhibition via the HIF-1α-driven pathway prevents angiogenesis, oxidative stress, and ferroptosis in corneal alkali burn-induced CNV, highlighting LSD1 as a potential therapeutic target.

Suprachoroidal triamcinolone for alexandrite laser-induced macular burn.

Two days after treatment for unwanted facial hair by alexandrite laser, a young female presented with decreased vision in the right eye. During the procedure, she was not wearing protective eye goggles. Ocular examination showed a round whitish lesion at the foveal region with visual acuity of 20/400. The left eye was unremarkable. She was treated immediately with a suprachoroidal injection of triamcinolone acetonide delivered with a custom-made needle. This resulted in the improvement of visual acuity and restoration of foveal anatomy over 1-year period.

Epigenetic Regulation and Molecular Mechanisms of Burn Injury-Induced Nociception in the Spinal Cord of Mice.

Epigenetic mechanisms, including histone post-translational modifications (PTMs), play a critical role in regulating pain perception and the pathophysiology of burn injury. However, the epigenetic regulation and molecular mechanisms underlying burn injury-induced pain remain insufficiently explored. Spinal dynorphinergic (Pdyn) neurons contribute to heat hyperalgesia induced by severe scalding-type burn injury through p-S10H3-dependent signaling. Beyond p-S10H3, burn injury may impact various other histone H3 PTMs. Double immunofluorescent staining and histone H3 protein analyses demonstrated significant hypermethylation at H3K4me1 and H3K4me3 sites and hyperphosphorylation at S10H3 within the spinal cord. By analyzing Pdyn neurons in the spinal dorsal horn, we found evidence of chromatin activation with a significant elevation in p-S10H3 immunoreactivity. We used RNA-seq analysis to compare the effects of burn injury and formalin-induced inflammatory pain on spinal cord transcriptomic profiles. We identified 98 DEGs for burn injury and 86 DEGs for formalin-induced inflammatory pain. A limited number of shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) suggest distinct central pain processing mechanisms between burn injury and formalin models. KEGG pathway analysis supported this divergence, with burn injury activating Wnt signaling. This study enhances our understanding of burn injury mechanisms and uncovers converging and diverging pathways in pain models with different origins.

Bacteriophage therapy reduces Staphylococcus aureus in a porcine and human ex vivo burn wound infection model.

Burn wounds are a major burden, with high mortality rates due to infections. Staphylococcus aureus is a major causative agent of burn wound infections, which can be difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. An alternative to antibiotics is the use of bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill bacteria. We investigated the efficacy of bacteriophage therapy for burn wound infections, in both a porcine and a newly developed human ex vivo skin model. In both models, the efficacy of a reference antibiotic treatment (fusidic acid) and bacteriophage treatment was determined for a single treatment, successive treatment, and prophylaxis. Both models showed a reduction in bacterial load after a single bacteriophage treatment. Increasing the frequency of bacteriophage treatments increased bacteriophage efficacy in the human ex vivo skin model, but not in the porcine model. In both models, prophylaxis with bacteriophages increased treatment efficacy. In all cases, bacteriophage treatment outperformed fusidic acid treatment. Both models allowed investigation of bacteriophage-bacteria dynamics in burn wounds. Overall, bacteriophage treatment outperformed antibiotic control underlining the potential of bacteriophage therapy for the treatment of burn wound infections, especially when used prophylactically.

An Initial Report of Thermal Runaway Resulting in Full-Thickness Foot Burns from Lithium-Ion Battery-Powered Insole.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in many commercial products such as electronics, cell phones, and e-cigarettes. Use of these batteries has become widespread over recent years due to their chargeability and long-lasting performance. Though a rare occurrence, lithium-ion batteries can fail due to myriad battery defects, which can cause fires and burns. One particular concern is that of thermal runaway, a critical failure marked by a sudden exothermic reaction which occurs as a result of damage to the lithium battery. Thermal runaway can produce heat in excess of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, causing severe burns to individuals in close proximity. A 39-year-old man presented to an emergency department (ED) with full-thickness burns to his right foot after an episode of lithium-ion battery thermal runaway in his footwarmer. The patient's boot suddenly and unexpectedly caught fire for several seconds prior to being successfully removed. The patient subsequently underwent several weeks of debridements, auto- and homografting, and wound care before eventually making a full recovery. This case highlights the rare, but serious, risk posed by lithium-ion batteries as a result of thermal runaway. This phenomenon can cause devastating full-thickness burns in a matter of seconds. As lithium-ion powered appliances grow in popularity, stringent safety measures should be implemented to prevent catastrophic injuries. Furthermore, healthcare providers should be made aware of injuries caused by thermal runaway to appropriately treat patients.

Intranasal Atomized Dexmedetomidine in Combination with Intranasal Atomized Butorphanol for dressing change sedation and analgesia in adult burn patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Intranasal Atomized Dexmedetomidine (IAD)+Intranasal Atomized Butorphanol (IAB) combination therapy on adult burn patients undergoing dressing changes. Herein, 46 adult burn patients were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups: Dexmedetomidine-Butorphanol (DB) and Saline-Butorphanol (SB), treated with atomized dexmedetomidine+butorphanol and saline +butorphanol, respectively. The primary outcomes were the Ramsay Sedation Scale (RSS) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores. The secondary outcomes were Mean Blood Pressure (MBP), Heart Rate (HR), Respiratory Rate (RR), peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), total butorphanol consumption, and Adverse Effects (AEs). The two groups were comparable in age, sex, weight, and Total Burn Surface Area (TBSA). During dressing changes, the DB group exhibited significantly lower RSS levels (P<0.05). Besides, the two groups showed no significant differences in VAS scores across all measurement time points. Notably, the DB group exhibited decreased MBP at the beginning of the operation (P<0.0001), 10 min after (P<0.0001), and 20 min after (P=0.0205). HR decreased significantly at the beginning (P=0.0005) and 10 min after (P=0.0088) in the DB group. Furthermore, the two groups showed no significant differences in RR and SpO2 levels. Additionally, the rescue butorphanol dose was lower in the DB group (P<0.001). Finally, dizziness and nausea incidences were significantly lower in the DB group (P<0.05). In conclusion, besides its hemodynamic adverse reactions, the IAD+IAB combination therapy exerted a better sedation effect in adult burn patients than IAB treatment alone.

The impact of subdermal adipose derived stem cell injections and early excision on systemic oxidative stress and wound healing in rats with severe scald burns.

AIM: This study aims to develop an experimental treatment model effective against oxidative stress in the acute period of severe burns and to analyze the mechanisms of healing large wound defects. METHODS: Five rats, including 2 females and 3 males, were used as donors to obtain adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC) from the inguinal fat pad. The stem cells were labeled with green fluorescent protein. The study included four groups of 17 rats, each with grade 3 scalding burns on 30 % of their body surface, and a control group of 10 rats with an equal number of males and females. After early excision, 106 ADSC-derived stem cells were administered subdermally to the burned wound and autografted to the stem cell group (n = 17). The early excision group (n = 17) received early excision and autograft, with 2 ml of normal saline injected subdermally into the burn wound edge. The PLM group (n = 17) was treated with a polylactic membrane (PLM) dressing after the burn. No treatment was given to the burn group (n = 17). Ten rats from all groups were sacrificed on the 4th day post-burn for oxidative stress evaluation. The control group (n = 10) was sacrificed on day 4. Blood and tissue samples were collected post-sacrifice. Oxidative stress and inflammation in the blood, as well as cell damage in the skin, liver, kidneys, and lungs, were investigated histopathologically and biochemically on the 4th day post-burn. On the 70th day after burn, wound healing was examined macroscopically and histopathologically. RESULTS: On the 4th day, oxidative stress results showed that the levels of Total Oxidative Capacity (TOC) in the blood were lowest in the stem cell (7.4 [6-8.8]), control (6.7 [5.9-7.6]), and early excision (7.5 [6.6-8.5]) groups, with no significant difference between them. The burn group (14.7 [12.5-16.9]) had the highest TOC levels. The PLM group (9.7 [8.6-10.7]) had lower TOC levels than the burn group but higher levels than the other groups. Histopathological examination on the 4th day revealed low liver caspase-3 immunoreactivity in the stem cell and early excision groups among the burn groups. Caspase-3 immunoreactivity levels were as follows: stem cell group (20 [10-30]), early excision group (25 [15-50]), PLM group (70 [50-100]), control group (0), and burn group (80 [60-120]). Other oxidative stress and end-organ damage outcomes were consistent with these results. All rats in the stem cell group had burn wounds that healed completely by the 70th day. Examination of the skin and its appendages from the stem cell group with an immunofluorescence microscope demonstrated green coloration, indicating incorporation of stem cells. CONCLUSION: Stem cells may have the potential to form new skin and its appendages, providing better healing for large skin defects. Early excision treatment, by removing local necrotic tissues after extensive and deep burns, can prevent end-organ damage due to systemic oxidative stress and inflammation. We also believe that when these two treatments are used together, they can achieve the best results.

Treating scars after burns with pulsed electric fields in the rat model.

Reducing scar size after severe burn injuries is an important and challenging medical, technology and social problem. We have developed a battery-powered pulsed electric field (PEF) device and surface needle electrode applicator to deliver pulsed electric fields to the healing dorsal burn wound in rats. PEF was used to treat residual burn wounds caused by metal contact in rats starting 10 days after the injury for 4 months every 11 or 22 days for 4 months using varying time applied voltages at 250-350V range, 400mA current, 40 pulses, 70 µs duration each, delivered at pulse repetition frequency 10 Hz at 5 locations inside the wound. We found 40-45% reduction in the scar size in comparison with untreated controls in both upper and lower dorsal locations on rats' backs two months after the last PEF application. We have not detected significant histopathological differences in the center of the scars besides the thickness of the newly generated epidermis, which was thicker in the PEF treated group.We showed that minimally invasively applied pulsed electric fields through needle electrodes are effective method and device for treating residual burn wounds in the rat model, reducing the size of the resulting scars, without any adverse reaction.

A review on traditional medicine used for burn treatment.

Considering the high consumption of and preference for traditional treatments among people and the lack of enough studies on the effectiveness of these treatments, we aimed to review articles on the use of traditional and complementary medicine, focusing on how they affect healing, debridement, and hypertrophic scars. In this study, we conducted the literature search in international databases Pubmed, Google scholar, Ovid, Scopus, web of science, and Cochrane library, as well as Persian databases SID, Magiran, Iranmedex, and Irandoc. Retrieved hits were reviewed by three authors for screening based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and the screening process is expressed as PRISMA framework flow chart. Twenty-two studies were included. The evaluated outcomes were wound healing in 19, pain control in 5, itching in 4, and scar appearance in 2 studies. All of the studies showed equal or improved effects compared to common treatments. Aloe vera, Centella asiatica, and Arnebia euchroma were the most common plants. We revealed that traditional medicine is beneficial in burn wound treatment, the diversity in ingredients that are used in traditional medicine brings up the need for further controlled prospective studies to evaluate the precise superiority of these treatments compared to the standard care.

In-person learning during the pandemic: Student take-up and school-level effects of remote and hybrid instruction on student outcomes.

While studies have examined the effects of schools offering in-person learning during the pandemic, this study provides analysis of student enrollment decisions (remote versus in-person) in response to schools providing in-person learning opportunities. In Connecticut during the 2020-21 school year, we find that student take-up of in-person learning opportunities was low with students on average enrolled in-person for only half of the days offered, and take-up was even lower in schools with larger shares of disadvantaged students. The provision of in-person learning opportunities has been previously shown to mitigate pandemic learning losses. By exploiting data on actual enrollment, we show that the protective benefits of in-person learning are twice as large as previously estimated once we account for the low rates of student take-up. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that a key mechanism behind the benefits of in-person learning is alleviating the burden faced by schools and teachers in delivering remote education. First, we show that the benefits to individual students of their in-person learning are substantially smaller than the overall benefits a student receives from their school average level of in-person enrollment. Second, we show that a combination of remote and in-person learning (hybrid) with a full-time on-line presence of students when at home was worse than hybrid learning with students never or only partially online. This second finding is consistent with qualitative evidence showing that teachers found hybrid learning especially challenging when having to manage both in-person and remote students for the entire class period.

Age and Sex Differences of Virtual Reality Pain Alleviation Therapeutic During Pediatric Burn Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Virtual reality (VR) effectively alleviates pain for pediatric patients during many medical procedures, such as venipuncture and burn care. In our previously published randomized clinical trial among 90 pediatric burn patients, participants in the active VR group had significantly lower scores for overall pain compared with participants in the standard care control and for worst pain compared with participants in the passive VR and control group. However, whether VR differs by a patient's age or sex remains unresolved. Thus, we reanalyzed our data by comparing the active and passive VR participants to evaluate how age and sex affect VR pain alleviation during dressing care for pediatric burns. In total, 90 patients aged 6-17 years (inclusive) with burn injuries were recruited from an outpatient burn clinic of an American Burn Association-verified pediatric burn center. Before randomization, VR helpfulness and need expectations were assessed on a visual analog scale (0-100). Participants were randomly assigned to active VR, passive VR, or control for one dressing change. Immediately following the dressing change, active and passive VR participants self-reported pain and the time spent thinking about pain and rated the VR features on the degree of realism, pleasure/fun, and perceived engagement level. Path analyses assessed how these VR features were interrelated and how they affected self-reported pain by age and sex. Patients aged 6-9 years reported higher mean expectations of VR helpfulness and need (mean = 73.6 and 94.5, respectively) than 10-12-year-olds (mean = 55.7 and 84.2, respectively) and 13-17-year-olds (mean = 68.6 and 77.4, respectively). The path analysis indicated VR engagement and fun were significantly correlated (p-value < 0.05). VR engagement significantly negatively impacted overall pain scores (coefficient = -0.45, -0.41; p-value < 0.05) and significantly positively impacted time thinking of pain (coefficient = 0.38, 0.32; p-value < 0.05). Younger patients had the highest expectations of VR helpfulness and need. VR game realism, fun, and engagement features were not statistically different between age groups and sexes. VR engagement and thinking of pain during burn dressing significantly positively affected self-reported pain (p-value < 0.05), suggesting an analgesic mechanism beyond distraction alone. Younger patients benefited more from VR than older patients.

Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index and 30-Day Postoperative Mortality in Geriatric Burn Patients.

INTRODUCTION: The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) can easily identify malnutrition-associated morbidity and mortality. We investigated the association between preoperative GNRI and 30-d mortality in geriatric burn patients who underwent surgery. METHODS: The study involved geriatric burn patients (aged ≥ 65 y) who underwent burn surgery between 2012 and 2022. The GNRI was computed using the following formula: 1.489 × serum albumin concentration (mg/L) + 41.7 × patient body weight/ideal body weight. Patients were dichotomized into the high GNRI (≥ 82) and low GNRI (< 82) groups. GNRI was evaluated as an independent predictor of 30-d postoperative mortality. The study also evaluated the association between GNRI and sepsis, the need for continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), major adverse cardiac events (MACE), and pneumonia. RESULTS: Out of 270 patients, 128 (47.4%) had low GNRI (< 82). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that low GNRI was significantly associated with 30-d postoperative mortality (hazard ratio: 1.874, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.146-3.066, P = 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the 30-day mortality rate differed significantly between the low and high GNRI groups (log-rank test, P < 0.001). The 30-d postoperative mortality (hazard ratio: 2.677, 95% CI: 1.536-4.667, P < 0.001) and the incidence of sepsis (odds ratio [OR]: 2.137, 95% CI: 1.307-3.494, P = 0.004), need for CRRT (OR: 1.919, 95% CI: 1.101-3.344, P = 0.025), MACE (OR: 1.680, 95% CI: 1.018-2.773, P = 0.043), and pneumonia (OR: 1.678, 95% CI: 1.019-2.764, P = 0.044), were significantly higher in the low GNRI group than in the high GNRI group. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative low GNRI was associated with increased 30-d postoperative mortality, sepsis, need for CRRT, MACE, and pneumonia in geriatric burn patients.

A Comparison of Demographics Across the Burn, Spinal Cord Injury, and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the demographic profiles of participants in the traumatic brain injury (TBI), burn injury (BI), and spinal cord injury (SCI) Model Systems Databases. DESIGN: Data from the Burn Model System (BMS) National Database, TBI Model Systems (TBIMS) National Database, and SCI Model System (SCIMS) Database was analyzed from 1994 to 2020. SETTING: Not applicable PARTICIPANTS: The study included 16 years and older participants with available data in selected variables, totaling 4,807 BI, 19,127 TBI, and 18,473 SCI participants. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Variables including age, race, ethnicity, sex, education level, primary payor source, family income level, employment status at one-year post-injury, etiology, and mortality at one-year post-injury were analyzed across the database. RESULTS: Median ages at injury for BMS (40.4), TBIMS (40), and SCIMS (38) Database participants were comparable. Males constituted about 75% of participants in BMS, TBIMS, and SCIMS datasets, with approximately 75% having a high school education or lower. The proportion of participants funded by Medicare during initial hospital care varied across the BMS (14%), TBIMS (15.6%), and SCIMS (10.2%). For family income (data available for BMS and SCIMS), roughly 30% of these participants reported a family income below $25,000. Etiology data indicated 49.0% of TBI and 40.7% of SCI cases resulted from vehicular incidents. CONCLUSIONS: An overlapping at-risk population for these injuries appears to be middle-aged males with lower education levels and family incomes, who have access to vehicles. This underscores the need for preventive initiatives tailored to this identified population to mitigate the risk of these injuries.

Prophylactic Antibiotics are Unnecessary for Routine CO2 Laser Burn Scar Treatment.

CO2 ablative fractional laser (CO2 AFL) therapy is a safe and effective procedure when used in the treatment of hypertrophic scars for burn patients. It has a high patient satisfaction rate and a minimal side effect profile, typically consisting of postoperative pain, irritation, surgical site inflammation, and, in rare cases, infection. Although prophylactic antibiotics have historically been recommended, there is a paucity of literature on the topic and recent studies indicate that they may be unnecessary in routine cases. In this retrospective, single center descriptive study, 230 cases in patients with hypertrophic burn scars treated with CO2 AFL therapy were compared. 28 cases were with the use of prophylactic antibiotics and 201 cases were without the use of prophylactic antibiotics. We found that there was no significant association between the use of antibiotics and the prevention of topical skin infection in cases treated with CO2 AFL therapy (p=1). Therefore, we conclude that the omission of prophylactic antibiotics is not associated with an increased risk of infection and recommend that prophylactic antibiotics should not be indicated in the setting of routine CO2 AFL therapy for patients with hypertrophic burn scars.