Knowledge, attitude, and sources of information towards burn first aid among people referred to a burn centre in the north of Iran.

Optimal management of burns begins with first aid from the first hours of injury. Adequate knowledge of how to perform first aid for burns can reduce the consequences of injury. Therefore, this study aims to determine the knowledge, attitude, and sources of information assessment towards burn First aid among people referred to a burn centre in the north of Iran. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to assess knowledge, attitude, and sources of information towards burn first aid among people referred to a burn centre in the north of Iran in 2023. In this survey, a convenience sampling method was adopted. The variables consisted of four items on socio-demographic information, 15 items on knowledge, ten items on attitude, and one item on sources of information related to burn First aid. A total of 371 individuals responded to the survey. The mean age of participants was 31.90 ± 8.49 years old. The mean score of the total knowledge of the participants in the research was 6.04 ± 3.05. There was a statistically significant relationship between the variables of age, sex, marital status, place of residence, level of education, and history of receiving first aid training with the participants' knowledge level. The average score of the total attitude of the participants was 44.08 ± 3.88. Out of 371 participants, 214 people (57.7%) had an average attitude, and 157 people (42.3%) had a good attitude towards burn first aid. There was a statistically significant relationship between place of residence, level of education, and history of receiving first aid training with the participants' attitudes in the research. In addition, the level of knowledge had a statistically significant relationship with the participants' attitude level in the research (p-value <0.001). The majority of participants have limited knowledge of burn first aid. This lack of knowledge could lead to severe consequences. Therefore, healthcare organizations should review and promote consistent guidelines for burn first aid to tackle and minimize the effect of this grave injury.

An 11-year retrospective study on the epidemiology of paediatric burns in the north of Iran.

Burn injuries in children are distressing physical and emotional events with long-term disability. However, there is little research on the epidemiology of paediatric burns. This information is essential for the development of prevention intervention and acute management. This study aimed to describe epidemiologic characteristics and clinical outcomes of paediatric burns in a burn center in the north of Iran. A retrospective, single-center study was conducted of children (<18 years) admitted to the burns center between 2011 and 2021. The data were analysed by SPSS 24.0 software. The chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test were used to assess categorical variables, and Student's t-tests or One-Way ANOVA was used to evaluate continuous variables. 2951 paediatric burns with mean age 5.30 ± 5.27 years, were admitted during the 11 years, with 1777 boys (60.2%) and 1174 girls (39.8%). By age groups, the majority of children (59.7%) were between 0 and 4 years old, followed by 5 to 8 years (15.7%), 13 to 18 years (14.6%), and 9 to 12 years (10.0%), respectively. The most cause of injury was Hot liquids & vapours (1604, 54.4%). The mean age for burns with fire & flames, hot liquids & vapours, contact, chemical, and electrical was 4.46 ± 4.84, 5.70 ± 5.39, 5.44 ± 5.42, 3.93 ± 3.86, and 3.53 ± 4.06 years, respectively. The total body surface area (TBSA) burned was 14.96 ± 11.94. The longest length of stay (LOS) related to fire and flame was 5.63 ± 7.57 days. The mortality rate was 1.56%. There were significant differences among aetiology groups for the cost per % TBSA (F = 15.784, P < 0.001), which correlated with the burn depth, TBSA, aetiology, LOS, and age. The Ministry of Health should establish strategies for burn prevention and incorporate data surveillance for burn injuries. Community education on kitchen and cooking safety could positively impact the prevalence and outcomes of paediatric burns.

Effects of aromatherapy with Rosa damascene and lavender on pain and anxiety of burn patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Pain and anxiety were considered the most common complications of treatment procedures in burn patients. Non-pharmacological drugs, including aromatherapy, can decrease these issues. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to summarise the effects of aromatherapy with Rosa damascene (RD) and lavender on the pain and anxiety of burn patients. A systematic search was performed on international electronic databases such as Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science, as well as on Iranian electronic databases such as Iranmedex and Scientific Information Database (SID) with keywords extracted from Medical Subject Headings such as "Burns", "Pain", "Pain management", "Anxiety", and "Aromatherapy" were performed from the earliest to November 1, 2022. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist assessed the quality of randomised control trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies. STATA v.14 software was used to estimate pooled effect size. Heterogeneity was assessed with I2 value. Random effect model and inverse-variance method using sample size, mean, and standard deviation changes were applied to determine standard mean differences (SMD). The confidence interval of 95% was considered to determine the confidence level. A total of 586 burn patients participated in six studies, including three RCT studies and three quasi-experimental studies. The results based on RCT studies showed RD significantly decreased the dressing pain average when compared to the control group (SMD: -1.61, 95%CI: -2.32 to -0.99, Z = 5.09, I2 : 66.2%, P < 0.001). Aromatherapy with lavender decreased the average pain in the interventional group more than in the control group (SMD: -1.78, 95%CI: -3.62 to 0.07, Z = 1.89, I2 : 97.2%, P = 0.06). Using aromatherapy with RD and lavender significantly decreased pain average in the interventional group than the control group (SMD: -1.68, 95%CI: -2.64 to -0.72, Z = 3.42, I2 : 94.2%, P = 0.001). The results showed RD significantly decreased the anxiety average in the interventional group than the control group (SMD: -2.49, 95%CI: -2.98 to -2.0, Z = 9.94, I2 : 51.6%, P < 0.001). Overall, this study showed that aromatherapy with RD decreased pain and anxiety of dressing procedures in burn patients. Although aromatherapy with lavender decreased pain in the patients, it was not statistically significant. More RCTs studies are required to be able to better judge the effects of aromatherapy with RD and lavender on the pain and anxiety of burn patients.

Effects of massage therapy on pain and anxiety intensity in patients with burns: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of massage therapy on pain and anxiety intensity in patients with burns. A comprehensive, systematic search was conducted in various international electronic databases, such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Persian electronic databases such as Iranmedex, and Scientific Information Database using keywords extracted from Medical Subject Headings such as 'Massage therapy', 'Musculoskeletal manipulations', 'Acute pains', 'Burning pain', and 'Burn' from the earliest to October 17, 2022. Cochran's tool is used to check the risk of bias for randomised clinical trial (RCT) articles. The methodological index for non-randomised studies was used to assess the risk of bias in quasi-experimental studies. STATA version 14 software was used to perform the meta-analysis. A 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to determine statistical significance. Heterogeneity was investigated with I2 . A P-value less than .1 was considered statistically significant for publication bias value. A total of 733 patients with burns were included in seven studies. Five studies had an RCT design and two studies had a quasi-experimental design. The duration of the study was reported in five studies, with a mean of 42.40 weeks. The duration of the intervention was reported in seven studies with a mean of 22.86 minutes. The results of the meta-analysis showed using various types of massage therapy interventions significantly reduced pain intensity in the intervention group compared with the control group (weighted mean difference: -2.08, 95% CI: -2.55 to -1.62, Z = 8.77, I2 : 67.1%, P < .001). Massage therapy intervention significantly reduced the intensity of anxiety in burn patients (standard mean difference: -7.07, 95% CI: -10.13 to -4.01, Z = 4.53, I2 : 98.2, P < .001). Overall, the present systematic review and meta-analysis showed that massage therapy can reduce the intensity of pain and anxiety in burn patients. Therefore, it is recommended that health managers and policymakers pay special attention to massage therapy as a simple, low-cost, and efficient non-pharmacological treatment to relieve pain and anxiety in burn patients.

Acute burns during the COVID-19 pandemic: A one-year retrospective study of 611 patients at a referral burn centre in northern Iran.

Patients with acute burns are more vulnerable to COVID-19 because of physiologically weak immune systems. This study aimed to assess and compare individual characteristics, clinical features, and clinical outcomes of acute burn among COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. A retrospective study, with data collected from 611 acute burn patients with or without a COVID-19 diagnosis referred to a burn centre in Iran. Data were collected from April 2020 to 2021. The mean age of acute burns patients with COVID-19 was higher compared with acute burns patients with non-COVID-19 (47.82 vs. 32.59 years, P < .001). Acute burns occurred more frequently in COVID-19 patients with comorbidities compared with non-COVID-19 patients (48.72% vs. 26.92%, P = .003). 58.97% of COVID-19 patients and 55.42% of non-COVID-19 patients had grade II & III and II burns, respectively (P < .001). The mean total body surface area of the burn was higher in COVID-19 patients compared with non-COVID-19 patients (32.69% vs. 16.22%, P < .001). Hospitalisation in the intensive care unit (ICU) was higher in COVID-19 patients than in non-COVID-19 patients (76.92% vs. 15.73%, P < .001). Length of stay in hospital and ICU, the cost of hospitalisation, and waiting time for the operating room was higher in COVID-19 patients compared with non-COVID-19 patients (15.30 vs. 3.88 days, P < .001; 9.61 vs. 0.75 days, P < .001; 30 430 628.717 vs. 10 219 192.44 rials, P = .011; 0.84 vs. 0.24 min, P < .001, respectively). Intubation and mortality in-hospital were higher in COVID-19 patients compared with non-COVID-19 patients (41.02% vs. 6.99%, P < .001; 35.90% vs. 6.12%, P < .001, respectively). Therefore, it is recommended that health managers and policymakers develop a care plan to provide high-quality care to acute burns patients with COVID-19, especially in low-income countries.

Whole transcriptome-based skin virome profiling in typical epidermodysplasia verruciformis reveals α-, ß-, and γ-HPV infections.

HPVs are DNA viruses include approximately 450 types that are classified into 5 genera (α-, ß-, γ-, µ-, and ν-HPV). The γ- and ß-HPVs are present in low copy numbers in healthy individuals; however, in patients with an inborn error of immunity, certain species of ß-HPVs can cause epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV), manifesting as recalcitrant cutaneous warts and skin cancer. EV presents as either typical or atypical. Manifestations of typical EV are limited to the skin and are caused by abnormal keratinocyte-intrinsic immunity to ß-HPVs due to pathogenic sequence variants in TMC6, TMC8, or CIB1. We applied a transcriptome-based computational pipeline, VirPy, to RNA extracted from normal-appearing skin and wart samples of patients with typical EV to explore the viral and human genetic determinants. In 26 patients, 9 distinct biallelic mutations were detected in TMC6, TMC8, and CIB1, 7 of which are previously unreported to our knowledge. Additionally, 20 different HPV species, including 3 α-HPVs, 16 ß-HPVs, and 1 γ-HPV, were detected, 8 of which are reported here for the first time to our knowledge in patients with EV (ß-HPV-37, -47, -80, -151, and -159; α-HPV-2 and -57; and γ-HPV-128). This study expands the TMC6, TMC8, and CIB1 sequence variant spectrum and implicates new HPV subtypes in the pathogenesis of typical EV.

Effect of oral olive oil on healing of 10-20% total body surface area burn wounds in hospitalized patients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of consumption of oral olive oil on clinical outcomes and wound healing of thermally injured patients with hospital stays. One hundred patients (mean age; 33.34±7 years) with 10-20% total body surface area, deep second degree and more burn wounds were randomized to receive either oral olive oil or sunflower oil as the oil in their diet. Patients were evaluated daily for occurrence of wound infection, sepsis and healing of the grafted skin. Also the duration of hospitalization and admission to the intensive care unit were compared in two groups. Results showed that there was no significant difference between the olive oil group and the control group in percent of TBSA involvement (14.28±0.53 vs. 13.02±0.48, P=0.7), albumin concentration (3.25±0.5 vs. 3.13±0.5, P=0.5) and mean calorie intake (2034±216.9 kcal vs2118±192.1 kcal, P=0.2). We found a significant difference in the duration of wound healing (7.2±0.5 vs. 8.7±0.5, P=0.04) and duration of hospitalization (7.4±0.5 vs. 8.9±0.4, P=0.05) in the olive oil group versus the control group. We did not find any difference in ICU admission, wound infection and occurrence of sepsis between two groups. This study showed that an oral diet provided with olive oil in patients with burn may accelerate wound healing and decrease the duration of hospitalization.

Echocardiographic measurement of cardiac valvular thickness in healthy cows, cows with bacterial endocarditis, and cows with cardiorespiratory diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To determine valvular thickness in healthy cows, cows with bacterial endocarditis, and cows with various cardiorespiratory diseases. ANIMALS: 40 healthy Holstein adult cows (CONTROL), 6 adult cows with confirmed bacterial endocarditis (BE), and 10 cows with other cardiorespiratory disorders (NONBE). METHODS: Prospective study using right transthoracic echocardiographic examination in CONTROL, BE and NONBE cows. The valvular thicknesses of all cows were assessed in four different locations for all cardiac valves, and the maximal value was used for further analysis. RESULTS: The mean [±standard deviation (SD)] maximal thicknesses of the tricuspid, mitral, aortic, and pulmonary valves in the CONTROL group were 0.69 ± 0.10 cm, 0.85 ± 0.21 cm, 0.72 ± 0.17 cm, and 0.58 ± 0.12 cm, respectively. The maximal valvular thicknesses were less than 0.97 cm for the tricuspid, less than 0.91 cm for pulmonary, less than 1.05 cm for the aortic, and less than 1.28 cm for the mitral. In BE cows, the maximal valvular thickness of affected valves (median: 4.22 cm; range: 2.52-6.97 cm) and non affected valves (median: 0.75 cm; range: 0.45-1.52 cm) were significantly different (P = 0.0004). The maximal valvular thicknesses of the NONBE valves as well as the unaffected valves in the BE group were not significantly different compared to the CONTROL group valves. CONCLUSIONS: Using the mean ± 2SD formula for each valve in healthy cows, a thickness of tricuspid, mitral, aortic or pulmonary valves greater than 0.85 cm, 1.27 cm, 1.06 cm or 0.82 cm respectively should raise the suspicion of valvular bacterial endocarditis.

Epidemiology of burn injuries at a newly established burn care center in rasht.

BACKGROUND: Advances in the care of burn injuries have resulted from the efforts of regional patient-based specialist teams at burn care centers. OBJECTIVES: We conducted this study to assess the four-year epidemiology of burn injuries in Rasht, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, medical records of 2274 burn patients, treated at Velayat hospital from January 2007 to December 2010 in Rasht, Iran, were assessed. Age, sex, level of education, occupation, severity and degree of burn, burn surface area, burn cause and outcome of patients were evaluated. RESULTS: In our study the overall mortality rate was 8.7%; 65.7% of patients were men and 34.3% were women. Mean age of patients was 31.47 ± 22.67 years. Mean Total Burn Surface Area (TBSA) was 15.24 ± 18.4. Lowest TBSA was 0.5% and highest TBSA was 100%. Significant associations were observed between age (P = 0.0001), place of residence (P = 0.004), level of education (P = 0.0001), unemployment (P = 0.0001), marital status (P = 0.021), causes of burn (P = 0.0001), TBSA (P = 0.0001) and mortality rate. In our study, no significant difference was observed between age and sex (P = 0.071). CONCLUSIONS: Due to high prevalence of burn injuries in Iran, increasing the level of awareness of the society as well as adhering to safety procedures both at home and workplace is recommended via implementing effective national safety policies.