Severe burn injury—pre-hospital paramedic response—if it goes wrong
Abstract
Internationally burn injury is one of the major causes of death and disability. Serious burn injuries are devastating events that leave patients with longterm physical and psychological challenges that are recognised by paramedics worldwide as one of the most horrific and challenging injuries known to the emergency medical and rescue services. Burn injuries may be extremely complex in their presentation, and any resulting complications may extend the need for expensive long-term management from months to years.
This paper provides an overview of the complication of pre-hospital response to severe burn injury, if it goes wrong.
‘The patient with burns presents a difficult challenge to most health care personnel. Apart from the serious nature of the injury, there is the patient's discomfort, the distress of the patient and their relatives, the loss of income and the compromise of their employment future and their uncertainty about the future’ (Emergency Management of Severe Burns UK Course, Pre-Reading—BBA/ANZBA).
Internationally burn injury is one of the major causes of death and disability. In high income countries major injuries have become less frequent but the total number of burn injuries per year remains oddly static despite all the preventative actions taken in many countries. In the UK it is estimated that approximately 130 000 burn injury cases are seen in emergency departments (ED) in England and Wales each year, but only 10% (11 600) of these require admission to a hospital and only 10% (1 200) of those constitute complex burn injuries (International Burn Injury Database).
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