Fire

Sternal non-union is a rare complication of median sternotomies following cardiac surgery. It results in sternal instability and is associated with a high rate of morbidity. Patients with sternal non-union usually complain of pain and sternal clicking with movement of the chest wall. Diagnosis is confirmed on computed tomography showing a gap between two sternal halves. Surgical correction of sternal instability is challenging. The key objective is to reconstruct a thoracic cage that allows for biomimesis and preserves normal physiologic cardiac and pulmonary functions all whilst achieving an aesthetically pleasing result...

Burns in diabetics are quite frequent and serious in relation to diabetic neuropathy, which is common in this population, delaying healing and predisposing to the risk of infection. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of burns in diabetics hospitalized at the CTB of Tunis over 18 months. During the study period, 891 patients were hospitalized, including 43 diabetics (5%). The average age of our patients was 57 years old with a male predominance (65%). Type 2 diabetes was present in 86% of cases and type 1 diabetes in 14% of cases...

Burns are a worldwide major cause of injury. Burns result in damage to the skin and other organs, leading to open wounds, severe emotional and psychological complications, disability, and economic burden. In this article, we report our study of the relationship between patient demographics, burn etiology, and the incidence of burn wound infection. This study was conducted on 110 cases who presented with acute burns at the Burn Unit of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department at Tanta University Hospital, Egypt, in the period from January 2019 to January 2021...

Fire accidents and burns are one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. This study was conducted with the aim of studying the etiology of fire accidents as well as investigating the fire safety standards of both homes and equipment in Iran. Samples included patients with flame burns who consented to answer the questions. Questions covered five areas: patient demographics, epidemiological characteristics of burns, the fire safety status of the home, the fire safety status of the equipment, and the mechanism of the accident...

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of burn-related injuries in children <15 years in Kosovo, and compare incidence and cause of burns with our previous study conducted over the period 2005-2010 on children with burn injuries of the same age group. This was a retrospective study of pediatric patients (n=277) admitted to the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015. We analyzed data on gender, age, cause, location, burn size (TBSA), depth of injury, seasonality, duration of hospitalization and treatment of burn-related injuries, collected from the medical records available in the archives of the University Clinical Centre of Pristina...

The acute management of deep burns to the dorsum of the hand and fingers represents a challenge for the reconstructive surgeon. The exposure of osteo-tendinous structures often requires flap coverage, in a context where loco-regional or free flaps are not always feasible. The aims of reconstruction are to preserve a maximum of digital length, provide supple tissue, obtain protective sensitivity, and achieve a functional hand at 1 year. We report here on a series of 8 deep burns to the dorsum of the hand. Six hands were covered by Colson abdominal flap-graft and two by pedicled inguinal flap...

The standard care for burns is tangential surgical debridement and subsequent covering, but recently enzymatic debridement has appeared as an alternative. The objective of this study, using an individualised cost-per-patient information system, is to compare the cost per patient of these two alternatives and identify their main determining factors. A non-randomised, retrospective, observational study was carried out with 79 patients, 39 of whom were treated with surgical debridement. The average cost per patient for enzymatic debridement is lower, particularly due to a shorter length of stay of critical hospitalisation (13...

The scarcity of data on burn-related injuries in Pakistan prompted this study. The study is specifically aimed at assessing the burn patients who were admitted to a national burn care center (BCC) in Pakistan. This single-center retrospective analysis was conducted for 12 months from January to December 2021. During this time period, 14,069 patients visited BCC with burn injuries of diverse natures while 613 of them were admitted. The patients' information was abstracted from the hospital database. This information included age, sex, diagnosis, burn depth/degree, time of arrival, circumstances of burn injury, TBSA (total burn surface area), complications, outcome, and management plan...

The previous study on the injection of SVFs in combination with PRP showed positive effect on the healing of deep dermal burns. We now seek to understand the effect on full thickness burns, as assessed by changes in serum FGF2, IGF1, epithelialization, and fibroblast count. Forty-eight Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: (1) rats with full thickness burns given a local injection of combined SVFs and PRP; (2) rats with burns given topical Vaseline; (3) rats with burns given a local injection of placebo; and (4) rats without burns...

Predictive coding (PC) is an influential theory in neuroscience, which suggests the existence of a cortical architecture that is constantly generating and updating predictive representations of sensory inputs. Owing to its hierarchical and generative nature, PC has inspired many computational models of perception in the literature. However, the biological plausibility of existing models has not been sufficiently explored due to their use of artificial neurons that approximate neural activity with firing rates in the continuous time domain and propagate signals synchronously...

Pannexins are large-pore ion channels expressed throughout the mammalian brain that participate in various neuropathologies; however, their physiological roles remain obscure. Here, we report that pannexin1 channels (Panx1) can be synaptically activated under physiological recording conditions in rodent acute hippocampal slices. Specifically, NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated responses at the mossy fiber to CA3 pyramidal cell synapse were followed by a slow postsynaptic inward current that could activate CA3 pyramidal cells but was absent in Panx1 knockout mice...

The phenomenon of fire or even explosion caused by thermal runaway of lithium-ion power batteries poses a serious threat to the safety of electric vehicles. An in-depth study of the core-material thermal runaway reaction mechanism and reaction chain is a prerequisite for proposing a mechanism to prevent battery thermal runaway and enhance battery safety. In this study, based on a 24 Ah commercial Li(Ni0.6 Co0.2 Mn0.2 )O2 /graphite soft pack battery, the heat production characteristics of different state of charge (SOC) cathode and anode materials, the separator, the electrolyte, and their combinations of the battery were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry...

Burns in the elderly are a public health concern. This study aimed to analyze etiology, clinical characteristics, and independent risk factors for outcomes of burns in elderly patients. This retrospective study included elderly patients (65 years and over) admitted to a major burn unit between 2006 and 2016. Demographic data, clinical characteristics and outcomes were analyzed. One hundred and thirty patients were included. Most were female (56.2%) and the highest incidence was among those aged 75-84 years...

The transfusion of blood and blood components is a life-saving medical procedure, however, it is linked with adverse reactions to transfusions. Information about different types of adverse transfusion reactions (ATRs) will assist in their early identification and subsequent management, as well as in devising strategies to minimize the occurrence of adverse reactions related to blood component transfusion. The current study was therefore executed to analyze the pattern of ATRs in patients with burn injuries at a national burn center...

Our previous study on how the combination of stromal vascular fraction cells (SVFs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) affect deep dermal burn healing showed promising results. In this study, we assessed the effect on full-thickness burns by evaluating FGF7 serum level and capillary count. Forty-eight Wistar rats were divided into four major groups: (1) locally injected with combined SVFs and PRP; (2) topically applied Vaseline; (3) locally injected with placebo; (4) and rats without burns. These groups were divided further into smaller groups based on the day of euthanasia (8th hour, 4th day, 7th day, 14th day, and 21st day)...

In this Letter to the Editor, the authors point out occupational health and safety risks for paramedics, and highlight the relevant role carried out by multidisciplinary occupational health services in the prevention of occupational risks and the promotion of physical and mental well-being of these workers.

Flare gun injuries are rare, and patients often present with complex trauma that may require multiple operative interventions. Our objective is to explore a case of a 15-year-old male, who presented with second-degree flame burns to the face, left upper extremity and bilateral hands, as well as third-degree burns to the oropharynx and a tongue laceration after a flare gun was discharged into his mouth. The patient underwent multiple debridements of the oral cavity and oropharynx, and his hospital course was complicated by an intra-oral abscess...

Here we present a case of a 52-year-old female patient who was admitted to the Clinic in December 2021 due to the presence of right side facial burns which were caused by a cigarette lighter under suspicious conditions. Her past medical history revealed she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 20 and was hospitalized multiple times for the treatment of manic episodes. The last psychiatric hospitalization took place in October 2021. She had deep second-degree burns on the right side of the face, head and neck, with a total body surface area involvement of approximately 3%...

This study analyzed the structure and determined the factors affecting the cost of treatment of severe burns patients. The results showed that the average total costs for a patient was 3275.9 USD. The daily cost of hospitalization was 113.3 USD, the treatment cost for 1% burn surface area was 109.5 USD with the highest proportion for medication and consumable medical equipment (43.2%), followed by surgery and procedures (30.2%). The treatment costs increased with increasing age, burn extent and deep burn area (p < ...

Burn injuries are the fourth most common type of trauma worldwide, after traffic injuries, falls and interpersonal violence. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most critical proangiogenic factors. Failure in angiogenesis is often associated with chronic, non-healing wounds. This study aimed to compare the effect of sterile gauze with normal saline (NaCl) 0.9%, intermittent negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), continuous NPWT, and silver sulfadiazine dressing on increasing VEGF and angiogenesis in deep dermal burn injury...