Condition- Burns Injury

Question 1

List some causes of burns injury

Answer 1

• Touching hot objects
• Electrical burns
• Irradiation
• UV radiation
• Chemical burns (acid)

Question 2

What might you need to ellicit in the history of someone with an burns innjury?

Answer 2

• Time of burn
• Nature of burn (causative agent)
• Duration of contact

Question 3

List some signs and symtpoms of smoke inhalation/ CO poisoning

Answer 3

• Harsh cough
• SOB
• Hoarse voice
• Stridor
• Facial burns
• Soot in saliva or sputum
• Singed nose hairs

Question 4

What are the two main factors which can be used to determine the severity of a burn

Answer 4

• Depth of burn
• Distribution of burn

Question 5

List two methods of assessing and quantifying the distribution of a burn

Answer 5

• Wallace’s rule of 9s
• Lund-browder diagram

Question 6

Burns injuries can be categorised into 4 groups based on the depth of the burn. List the 4 groups

Answer 6

• Superficial Epidermal burn- confined to epidermins
• Superficial Partial thickness burn- extends to superficial dermis (papillary layer)
• Deep partial thickness burn- extends to deep dermis (reticular layer)
• Full thickness burn- full way through dermis and even into hypodermis

Question 7

A burn is red, dry, slightly painful and is blanching. How deep do you think the burn is?

Answer 7

Superficial Epidermal Burn

Question 8

How deep do you think this burn is? Why?

Answer 8

Superficial Partial Thickness Burn

• Blistering, wet/weeping, oedematous
• Red, Blanching
• Will be painful

Question 9

Describe the appearance of a deep partial thickness burn. How painful would it be?

Answer 9

• Varies in colour (yellow, white, red)
• May not blanch
• Can be wet/dry
• Painful to pressure

Question 10

Describe the depth of this burn. What are the characterisitc features of this type if burn. How painful would it be?

Answer 10

Full thickness burn

• Black/ grey/ brown
• Dry and leathery
• Stiff and inelastic
• Will be painless due to loss of sensation

Question 11

What investigations might you do on a patient who has come in with deep dermal burns due to a house fire?

Answer 11

• Carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation is a major worry
  
  • O2 sats, ABG, FBC, U+Es, might do group and save

Question 12

What investigation might you do on a patient with superficial dermal burns due to electrical burns from her faulty kettle?

Answer 12

ECG- to check for arrhythmias

Serum CK

Urine myoglobin to check for muscle damage