Treating Deep Burns

Approximately 40,000 burn patients per year require hospitalization, about half of whom are admitted to a special burn unit or intensive care unit (ICU). Twenty years ago, patients with burns covering half or more of the body frequently did not survive. Today, as treatment standards and care have improved, survival rates have increased significantly.1

Some or all of the following treatments may be used in patients with deep burns:

  • Transfusion with blood or a salt solution to replace lost fluid, prevent blood volume depletion and maintain blood pressure
  • Use of antibiotic creams and ointments to prevent infection at the burn site and elsewhere in the body
  • Skin grafts to cover and protect exposed areas and trigger new skin growth. The most commonly used types of skin grafts are:
    • Autografts – skin taken from undamaged areas of the patient’s body
    • Allografts – skin taken from organ donors
    • Synthetic grafts – man-made skin substitutes
    • CEA (cultured epidermal autograft), such as EPICEL

References

  1. American Burn Association, www.ameriburn.org/resources_factsheet.php. Accessed January 4th 2010.