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Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters logoLink to Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters
. 2018 Jun 30;31(2):160.

International Abstracts

PMCID: PMC6199014  PMID: 30374271
Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2018 Jun 30;31(2):160.

Could serum cytokines serve as predictors in outcome of thermal burn injuries?

RJ Babu

The aim of this paper from India was to assess whether serum cytokines can predict the outcome of thermal burn injuries. A prospective study was carried out from January 2016 to December 2016, involving 30 patients with 30–50% total body surface area (TBSA) burns. Proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1B and interleukin- 6 were quantitatively estimated on postburn day 4 and every 5 days thereafter. Proinflammatory cytokine levels were high in patients with higher percentage total body surface area burns. Temporal cytokine profiling revealed significant differences between the pattern of patients who survived and those who didn’t. Reduction in cytokine levels IL-1B, IL-6 in the survival group over the course of treatment and observation of incremental temporal expression in cytokine levels in the non-survival group indicated its recalcitrant nature on treatment and thereby dictated catastrophic outcome. The authors conclude that the temporal analysis of cytokines could serve as a predictor of thermal burn injury outcome.

References

  • 1.Babu R.J. Indian Journal of Burns. 2017;25(1):18–22. [Google Scholar]
Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2018 Jun 30;31(2):160.

Burns challenges: a social media-dictated phenomenon in the younger generation

V Chu

This article looks at burns challenges, a current youth culture phenomenon propagated by social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. The authors’ aim was to identify the different known methods of self-inflicted harm leading to burns, the degree of injury and harm linked to these and the extent of influence in social media, and thus create awareness on the subject among all those who work with children and adolescents. They conducted a literature review on PubMed, READ and Epistemonikos with key search criteria including challenges, fire, deodorant, ice and salt and eraser burns. References on each challenge were researched on social media platforms and generic search engines were used to review all public availability on these challenges. The search resulted in nine articles between 2012 and 2016. Further searches on Google, typing in the mode of challenge as the keyword, produced case reports. Ages of those involved normally ranged from 10 to 20 with one patient aged 8.5 and another 45. Available YouTube videos regarding the eraser challenge, deodorant challenge, ice and salt challenge and fire challenge were quoted as 320,000, 155,000, 939,000 and 24,800,000 respectively. Some videos had age restrictions in place, but the majority of videos uploaded by younger YouTubers (children) had no age restrictions and were allowed to remain on YouTube. The authors conclude that further studies should be done to increase understanding of the significant influence social media has on risky behaviours in children and adolescents. It is important to increase awareness of the extent of harm these challenges can cause so that hosting of these videos and contents can be better regulated.

References

Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2018 Jun 30;31(2):160.

RNS Centre and Fire Services: what information can be exchanged to manage the burn patient?

O Pujji

The aim of this article from England was to describe the experience of using a “Burns Extrication Form” at a regional Burns Centre. Communication between the fire services and burns team had previously been regarded as poor. The Burns Extrication Form was devised to provide a clear framework of communication between the two services. Information regarding time frames, exposure to heat and smoke, fire loading (potential severity of a fire in a given space by measuring amount of combustible material in confined space), building construction and chemicals involved is passed to the medical team through a National Health Service mailbox. Treatment provided by the fire service is also documented. This descriptive study looks at data ranging from 2014 to 2017. The information provided in the Fire Extrication Forms helped physicians to assess the magnitude of fire-related injury across the region. It was shown that the fire services provided important first aid as one of the first responders at the scene. Their assessment was found to help clinicians further down the patient’s journey.

References

Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2018 Jun 30;31(2):160.

The clinical utility of extracorporeal shock wave therapy for burn pruritus: a prospective, randomized, single-blind study

So Young Joo

The authors of this article investigate utilization use and outcomes for burned patients undergoing ECMO (extracorporeal membranous oxygenation). The National Burn Repository (version 8.0) was searched for patients with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9) procedure codes for ECMO. Demographics, comorbidities, mechanism, injury details, and clinical outcomes were recorded. ECMO patients were matched one-to-one to those not requiring ECMO based on age, gender, TBSA and inhalation injury. Thirty ECMO-treated burn patients were identified. The study found that the ECMO cohort had significantly higher rates of cardiovascular comorbidities, concomitant major thoracic trauma, pneumonia, acute renal failure and sepsis than non-ECMO patients. Ventilator usage, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay and mortality were also significantly higher in those treated by ECMO (P < .05). Although burn patients placed on ECMO have significantly higher rates of morbidity and mortality than those not requiring ECMO, the mortality rate is equivalent to patients reported by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization. The authors conclude that ECMO is a viable option for supporting critically injured burn patients.

References

Articles from Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters are provided here courtesy of Euro-Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (MBC)

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