Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Acute Burns
Tiffany B. Grunwald, M.D.,
M.Ed.
Warren L. Garner, M.D.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Learning Objectives: After studying this article, the participant should be able
to: 1. Describe the pathophysiology of burn injury. 2. Identify patient criteria for
transfer to a burn center. 3. Calculate burn size and resuscitation requirements.
4. Treat inhalation injury in the acute setting. 5. Describe treatment options for
burn injuries. 6. Describe preoperative selection, intraoperative procedures, and
postoperative protocols for patients who require surgical care for their burn
injuries. 7. Understand the survival and functional outcomes of burn injury.
Summary: The review article summarizes basic issues in the treatment of acute
burn injury as practiced in 2008. The pathophysiology, treatment options, and
expected outcomes for an acute burn are described and discussed. Special attention
is directed to the nonoperative and surgical management of small to moderate-size
burns that might be treated by the practicing plastic surgeon. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg.
121: 311e, 2008.)
EPIDEMIOLOGY
According to the National Burn Repository,4
there were 126,000 hospital admissions for burns
from January of 1995 to 2005. This information
was gathered from burn centers throughout the
United States and Canada to facilitate the collection and analysis of patient data within burn centers. From this information, we know that 62 percent of all burns seen in burn centers affected less
than 10 percent of the total body surface area. The
mean burn size was 13.4 percent of total body
From the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Southern California, USC Keck School of Medicine,
and LACUSC Burn Unit, LACUSC Medical Center.
Received for publication May 15, 2006; accepted January
24, 2007.
A passing score on this CME confers 0.5 hours of Patient
Safety Credit.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons designates this educational activity for a maximum of one (1) AMA PRA Category
1 credit. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate
with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Copyright 2008 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons
DOI: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e318172ae1f
Disclosure: Warren L. Garner, M.D., is the medical director for Advanced BioHealing, in La Jolla,
Calif. There is no financial interest or commercial
association for the other author that might pose or
create a conflict of interest with the information
submitted in this article.
www.PRSJournal.com
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Initial Assessment
The initial assessment of burn size should be
performed with a standardized Lund-Browder diagram for second- and third-degree burns. The
simpler rule of nines is helpful for rapid assessment but is less accurate. The palm is often used
to gauge 1 percent total body surface area, but
studies of body surface area have shown that the
adult palm with fingers corresponds to 0.8 percent
total body surface area in adults and 1 percent in
children.14 Quantifying the degree of injury is an
important initial step in the treatment of burns affecting decisions for resuscitation, transfer, and surgical debridement. Cone found an average overestimate of 75 percent by referring physicians.2 This
corresponds to a review of transfers to burn units
showing air transport costs exceeding the cost of
hospitalization in almost 10 percent of burns transferred to burn units.
Approximately 10 percent of all burns present
with concomitant trauma. Evidence of additional
injuries should be evaluated where appropriate by
a trauma team, orthopedic surgeon, and ophthalmologist. Burns involving extremities must be
checked for circumferential burns and compartment syndrome. Escharotomy involves release of
only burned skin and may be performed in a monitored environment equipped with electrocautery
and conscious sedation. Fasciotomy for release of
edematous muscle should be performed in a more
controlled environment (e.g., operating room) to
allow for appropriate visualization of the anatomy.15
Inhalation Injury
Inhalation injury is the most frequent burnassociated problem and has a great effect on survival. Aggressive diagnosis and early prophylactic
intubation can be life saving. A clinical diagnosis
may be based on a history of the burn occurring
in an enclosed space, significant facial burns,
change in voice quality, singed nasal hair, or carbonaceous sputum seen on examination or in the
pharynx with bronchoscopy. Chest radiographs
are generally negative in the immediate postburn
time and are of little value in diagnosing inhalation injury. Airway edema can continue to worsen
for several days after burn injury; therefore, intubated patients should be monitored closely and
extreme caution should be used when considering
extubation for 48 to 72 hours.16
Acute physiologic deterioration secondary to
carbon monoxide results from competition for
oxygen binding sites on the hemoglobin molecule. Suspected or significant exposure to carbon
Topical Treatments
Although topical antibiotics are used in most
burn centers, treatments include everything from
honey to silver sulfadiazine to duoderm.2126 Topical
antibiotics are used to keep the wound moist, control pain, and slow bacterial growth. Silver is found
in many burn wound dressings, including silver sulfadiazine (cream), Acticoat (fabric), and silver nitrate (solution). Silver has bactericidal activity that
reduces inflammation and promotes healing.23
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responsible for the significant blood loss secondary to an alteration in the coagulation cascade.
Operative methods to minimize blood loss during
surgical debridement include injecting diluted
epinephrine below the eschar, using cautery for
fascial excision, excising extremities under tourniquet, and performing excisions early in the postburn period, before significant wound angiogenesis develops.
Surgical debridement is performed using a
Goulian blade for small areas or those with multiple irregular contours (e.g., hand or knee) and
a Watson blade for larger areas. Burned tissue is
excised tangentially and sequentially until the
wound has been excised down to healthy dermis,
fat, muscle, peritenon, or periosteum. The wound
may then be covered with an autograft, allograft,
or synthetic skin substitute. If a healthy recipient
bed is not available, other reconstructive options
should be considered.
Burn Wound Coverage
Autografts include full-thickness skin grafts,
split-thickness skin grafts, and cultured epithelial
cells, each with their own set of advantages and
disadvantages (Table 6). Full-thickness skin grafts
are rarely used in burn surgery because of the
added tissue loss. Split-thickness skin grafts allow
for regrowth of the donor site with minimal scarring. The average graft depth is 8 to 14/1000ths of
an inch. Thinner grafts heal the donor site faster
with less scarring, while thicker grafts provide
more durable coverage but will have more significant scarring at the donor site. Graft depth should
be adjusted in pediatric and geriatric populations
for their thinner reticular dermis layer. Meshing
of the skin graft has several advantages, including
expanding the square centimeters of coverage,
allowing for drainage of fluid from under the
graft, and allowing for placement of the graft over
contoured areas, such as the knee or ankle. The
disadvantage of the meshed skin graft includes a
permanent weave-like appearance of the healed
scar site. Sheet skin grafts have a smoother healed
appearance but need to be checked frequently for
hematoma and seroma formation and cannot be
used for large burns, where donor sites are scarce.
Recently, fibrin spray has been used to improve
adherence of both sheet and mesh skin grafts.
Cultured epithelial autografts are grown from patient skin samples. Seventy-five square meters may
be grown from a 1-cm2 specimen. Few centers have
large success with cultured epithelial autografts
secondary to lack of take and poor long-term
durability.34
cluding postoperative dressings, frequent assessment of graft viability, and close involvement of
occupational and physical therapy teams. A viable
graft may be mobilized on postoperative day 4 or
5. Grafts to the lower extremities should be protected from venous hypertension by double Ace
bandage wraps. Grafts to the upper extremities,
especially the fingers, should be protected with an
elastic wrap, such as Coban.
NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT
In recent decades, studies have substantiated
the need for early feeding in burn patients. A huge
rise in metabolic rate occurs after a burn injury,9,37
as does enhanced gluconeogenesis, insulin resistance, and increased protein catabolism. Patients
with minor burns who are able to tolerate a diet
should be encouraged to eat healthy foods high in
protein. Patients with minor burns who are unable
to eat because of age, pain medication, or noncompliance should be followed by a dietician and
intake should be supplemented by tube feedings
as necessary. Prealbumin provides a contemporary
measurement of nutritional state more useful in
acute care of burns than albumin alone. In critically ill burn patients, beginning tube feedings
immediately upon admission can prevent atrophy
of the gastrointestinal mucosa and bacterial translocation in the gut. Duodenal tube feeding may be
superior to gastric feeding but is usually reserved
for those patients intolerant of gastric feeding.38
PHARMACOTHERAPY
Multiple advances in pharmacotherapy have
been achieved for burn patients. Burn patients
show significant interpatient and intrapatient variations in distribution of medications.39 Pharmacist
help in ensuring correct dosing based on blood
levels and blood volume is invaluable. Horton
showed that antioxidants reduced burn- and burn
sepsisrelated mortality rates by inhibiting free radical formation and scavenging free radicals.40 The
anabolic steroid oxandrolone has been shown to
decrease acute-phase proteins, and long-term administration improved lean body mass and bone
mineral density in pediatric burn populations.10
Judicious use of topical and systemic antibiotics
is recommended to avoid development of opportunistic nosocomial bacterial resistance.10 Because of increasing multidrug-resistant, nosocomial pathogens41
(P. aeruginosa, methicillin-resistant S. aureus, and
vancomycin-resistant enterococcus), antibiotic usage in burn units is discouraged in the absence of
sepsis or identification of a specific pathogen. Patients receiving antibiotics should be monitored
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Descriptor
Surgical preparation or creation of recipient site by excision of open wounds, burn eschar, or scar
(including subcutaneous tissues), or incisional release of scar contracture, trunk, arms, legs; first 100
sq cm or 1% of body area of infants and children
Surgical preparation or creation of recipient site by excision of open wounds, burn eschar, or scar
(including subcutaneous tissues), or incisional release of scar contracture, trunk, arms, legs; each
additional 100 sq cm or each additional 1% of body area of infants and children
Surgical preparation or creation of recipient site by excision of open wounds, burn eschar, or scar
(including subcutaneous tissues), or incisional release of scar contracture, face, scalp, eyelids,
mouth, neck, ears, orbits, genitalia, hands, feet and/or multiple digits; first 100 sq cm or 1% of body
area of infants and children
Surgical preparation or creation of recipient site by excision of open wounds, burn eschar, or scar
(including subcutaneous tissues), or incisional release of scar contracture, face, scalp, eyelids,
mouth, neck, ears, orbits, genitalia, hands, feet and/or multiple digits; each additional 100 sq cm or
each additional 1% of body area of infants and children
STSG,
STSG,
STSG,
STSG,
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SUMMARY
Interdisciplinary involvement with members
of the burn team and counseling groups is very
important in maximizing a patients clinical outcome. Interventions designed to aid adjustment,
work hardening, and other rehabilitation services
and marital/family therapy are also important.
CPT codes commonly used in burn surgery are
listed in Table 7.
Warren L. Garner, M.D.
LACUSC Medical Center
1200 N. State Street
Burn Unit, Room 12-700
Los Angeles, Calif. 90033
wgarner@surgery.usc.edu
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