Thickness Burns in Adults Whenever

¶ … Thickness Burns in Adults

Whenever a person has full thickness burns, it is of major import to any medical professional or first aid provider. It is of interest to this author because of the personal experience of having a loved one who escaped a house fire with more than 15% burns on their body that required hospitalization. They have also had friends who were involved in car accidents in similar conditions who needed to go the hospital ER or to the hospital. For such reasons, it is imperative to understand to what extent full thickness burns covering the adult body constitute a necessity for an evacuation to a hospital by EMS personnel on the scene. This is a judgment call that is especially critical in a triage situation where there are numerous individuals to diagnose, treat and possible evacuate from the scene or send from an emergency room to intensive care or a higher level burn unit at another hospital.

Literature Review

The elderly are an adult population that is at special risk for various health problems and full-thickness burns are no exception to this. In a study published in the Journal of Burn Care Research in 2009, this population was studied in depth with regard to the effects of full thickness burns on the elderly. A study accessed and analyzed information from the National

Burn Repository (NBR) which aimed to characterize specific injury and outcome trends in elderly adults with burns. Patients were characterized by age effects on injury and outcomes and stratified into three age groups: 55 to 64, 65 to 74 and 75 and older.

Mortality rates were found to have decreased significantly across all age groups. This analysis was analyzed by the study authors with regard to age-dependent differences in resource utilization and mortality risk within the elderly burn However, they did conclude that older adults are associated with increased medical resource (Pham, 2009, 30-31). Obviously, we need the other factors, but is critical to realize how much more consumptive of resources and intensively older adults are. In a study in the journal Burns, it was found that the incidence of burns that were caused either by assault or attempted suicide is low. While this is the case, the affected patients require a multidisciplinary approach for treatment requiring significant medical, social support and psychological occupational. An increased awareness

What is missing is if such a triage is possible in an ER situation. Finally, in a study published in the journal CME, the treatment of burn injury was examined with regard to pathophysiology, treatment options and burns that are treatable by the practice of plastic surgeon. This triage to plastic surgery is helpful, but it is needed for larger full size burns as well.

These articles are similar with regard to the triage aspect, but differ in the different settings. (Grunwald & Garner, 2008, 311e-312e).

Application to Clinical Practice and Conclusion