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Burn Management

This document provides guidance on burn management. It outlines priorities for assessing and treating burn patients including airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure (ABCDE). It describes estimating burn severity based on surface area, depth and other factors. Early fluid replacement and stopping the burning are essential. Morbidity and mortality increase with larger surface area burns, especially in elderly patients. The Rule of 9s is described for estimating surface area in adults and children. Wound care including debridement, cleaning and dressing is outlined. Nutrition needs are high due to trauma and tissue regeneration.

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735 views7 pages

Burn Management

This document provides guidance on burn management. It outlines priorities for assessing and treating burn patients including airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure (ABCDE). It describes estimating burn severity based on surface area, depth and other factors. Early fluid replacement and stopping the burning are essential. Morbidity and mortality increase with larger surface area burns, especially in elderly patients. The Rule of 9s is described for estimating surface area in adults and children. Wound care including debridement, cleaning and dressing is outlined. Nutrition needs are high due to trauma and tissue regeneration.

Uploaded by

nrhmhealth
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BURN MANAGEMENT

The burn patient has the same priorities as all other trauma patients

Assess:

Considerations:

AIRWAY BREATHING CIRCULATION DISABILITY EXPOSURE

Rapid airway compromise Beware of inhalational injury Fluid replacement Compartment Syndrome Percentage area of burn

Burn severity is determined by Surface area Depth Other considerations

Essential Management Points


Stop the burning ABCDE Rule of 9s Obtain good IV access Early fluid replacement

Morbidity and mortality rises with increasing burned surface area and the patients age. Even small burns may be fatal in elderly people. Burns greater than 15% surface area (adult), greater than 10% (child) or any burn occurring in the extremes of age are considered serious

BURN MANAGEMENT Adults


The Rule of 9s is commonly used to estimate the burned surface area in adults.

Children
The Rule of 9s is modified for infants and children since their heads and lower extremities represent different proportions of body surface area.

The body is divided into anatomical regions that represent 9% (or multiples of 9%) of the total body surface area.

The outstretched palm and fingers approximate to 1%.

If the burned area is small, assess how many times your hand covers the area

BURN MANAGEMENT Depth of Burn


It is important to estimate the depth of the burn to assess its severity and to plan future wound care.

Depth of Burn
First degree

Appearance
Red Blanches with pressure Dry No blisters Red Blanches with pressure Moist, weeping Blisters Variable colour No blanching with pressure Wet, waxy or dry Blisters (easily unroofed) Waxy white, leathery gray, charred or black No blanching with pressure Dry, inelastic As with Third degree, but extends into fascia and/or muscle

Sensation
Painful

Second degree Partial thickness - superficial

Painful to temperature and air

Second degree Partial thickness - deep

Perceptive of pressure only

Third degree Full thickness

Deep pressure only

Fourth degree

Deep pressure

It is common to find all types of burns within the same wound and the depth may change with time, especially if infection occurs.

BURN MANAGEMENT
Serious burns requiring hospitalization include the following: Adult: greater than 15% burn Pediatric: greater than 10% burn Any burn in the very young, elderly or the infirm Any full thickness burn Specific regions: face, ears, eyes, hands, feet, perineum Circumferential burns High-voltage electrical burns Inhalational injury Associated trauma or significant pre-burn illness, e.g. diabetes

Wound Care
If the patient arrives at the health care facility without first aid given yet, do the following First Aid

Drench the burn with cool water to prevent further damage Remove all burned clothing, if easily removable If burn area is limited, immerse the site in cold water for 30 minutes to reduce pain, edema and tissue damage If burn area is large, apply clean wraps around the burned area (or the whole patient) to prevent systemic heat loss and hypothermia
Hypothermia is a particular risk in young children. The first 6 hours following injury are critical; transport the patient with severe burns to a hospital as soon as possible.

BURN MANAGEMENT Wound Care


Initially, burns are sterile. Focus the treatment on speedy healing and prevention of infection. Initial Treatment

In all cases, administer tetanus prophylaxis Except in very small burns, debride bullae. Excise adherent necrotic (dead) tissue initially and debride all necrotic tissue over the first few days. Gentle scrubbing will remove loose necrotic tissue. After debridement, gently cleanse the burn with 0.25% (2.5 gm/L) chlorhexidine solution, 0.1% (1 gm/L) cetrimide solution or another mild water-based antiseptic Do NOT use alcohol-based solutions Apply a thin layer of antibiotic cream (silver sulfadiazine) Dress the burn with petroleum gauze and dry gauze thick enough to prevent seepage to the outer layers
Fever is not a useful sign of infection as it may persist until the burn wound is closed. Cellulitis in the surrounding tissue is a better indicator of infection.

BURN MANAGEMENT Wound Care


Daily Treatment Change the dressing daily (twice daily, if possible) or as often as necessary to prevent seepage through the dressing. Remove any loose tissue with each dressing change. Inspect the wounds for discoloration or hemorrhage; this could indicate infection. Give systemic antibiotics in cases of hemolytic streptococcal wound infection or septicemia. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection often results in septicemia and death. Treat with systemic aminoglycosides. Administer topical antibiotic chemotherapy daily. Silver nitrate (0.5% aqueous) is the cheapest, is applied with occlusive dressings but does not penetrate eschar. It depletes electrolytes and stains the local environment. Use silver sulfadiazine (1% miscible ointment) with a single layer dressing. It has limited eschar penetration and may cause neutropenia. Mafenide acetate (11% in a miscible ointment) is used without dressings. It penetrates eschar but causes acidosis. Alternating these agents is an appropriate strategy. Treat burned hands with special care to preserve function.
Cover the hands with silver sulfadiazine and place them in loose polythene gloves or bags secured at the wrist with a crepe bandage. Elevate the hands for the first 48 hours, and then start the patient on hand exercises. At least once a day, remove the gloves, bathe the hands, inspect the burn and then reapply silver sulfadiazine and the gloves.

If skin grafting is necessary, consider treatment by a specialist after healthy granulation tissue appears.

BURN MANAGEMENT Wound Care


Healing Phase
The depth of the burn and the surface involved influence the duration of the healing phase. Without infection, superficial burns heal rapidly. Apply split thickness skin grafts to full-thickness burns after wound excision or the appearance of healthy granulation tissue. Plan to provide long term care to the patient.
Burn scars undergo maturation, at first being red, raised and uncomfortable. They frequently become hypertrophic and form keloids. They flatten, soften and fade with time, but the process is unpredictable and can take up to two years.

In children
The scars cannot expand to keep pace with the growth of the child and may lead to contractures.

Arrange for early surgical release of contractures before they interfere with growth.

Burn scars on the face lead to cosmetic deformity, ectropion and contractures about the lips. Ectropion can lead to exposure keratitis and blindness and lip deformity restricts eating and mouth care. Consider specialized care for these patients as skin grafting is often not sufficient to correct facial deformity.

Nutrition
Patients energy and protein requirements will be extremely high due to the catabolism of trauma, heat loss, infection and demands of tissue regeneration. If necessary, feed the patient through a nasogastric tube to ensure an adequate energy intake (up to 6000 kcal a day). Anemia and malnutrition prevent burn wound healing and result in failure of skin grafts. Eggs and peanut oil are good, locally available supplements.

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