Introduction Advances in acute burn care during the past 25 years in terms of decreased mortality and decreased length of hospital stay have been truly remarkable. Current and historical perspectives on burn mortality can be found in preceding chapters. In…
Introduction The hand is a primary means of communication, aesthetics, emotion, and sexuality. It exists at the core of our humanity. Particularly in the modern age of digital communication, the inability to interface with the digital world via hands is…
Introduction Burn injuries, regardless of the etiology, rarely involve a joint itself. However the joint function is often impaired because of burns. The joint problems and joint deformities noted in burn patients are mostly due to physical inactivity combined with…
Introduction Both immediate and delayed presentations exist for eye problems in burned patients. Accordingly, in burns, the structure and function of a normal eye can be disrupted by concurrent blunt or penetrating injury, electrical current, thermal energy, or chemical agents.…
Introduction Burn trauma begins via a cutaneous thermal injury with or without an inhalation injury. These local primary injuries initiate a series of pathophysiologic cascades previously discussed. Fluid shifts into thermally damaged tissue as well as global endothelial activation; glycocalyx…
Introduction The endocrine system is central to coordinating the systemic response to burn trauma ( Table 23.1 ). Pathological and compensatory changes are seen in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, thyroid, pancreatic, and gonadal hormonal secretions. These changes act in concert…
Introduction Severe burn injury causes a myriad of hematologic perturbations. Burn excision as well as substantial in-hospital phlebotomy causes severe blood loss anemia and even hemorrhagic shock, requiring substantial transfusion. Large-scale fluid resuscitation and shock cause a significant coagulopathy. Surgical…