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46. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft der Plastischen, Rekonstruktiven und Ästhetischen Chirurgen (DGPRÄC), 20. Jahrestagung der Vereinigung der Deutschen Ästhetisch-Plastischen Chirurgen (VDÄPC)

01.10. - 03.10.2015, Berlin

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Current methods and trends for assessment of burned body surface and burn depth

Meeting Abstract

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  • presenting/speaker Alexandru Tuca - Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Dpt. of Surgery, Graz, Austria
  • Matthias Pimiskern - Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • Daryousch Parvizi - Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Dpt. of Surgery, Graz, Austria
  • Paul Wurzer - Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Dpt. of Surgery, Graz, Austria; University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Hospitals for Children, Department of Surgery, Galveston, USA
  • Lars-Peter Kamolz - Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Dpt. of Surgery, Graz, Austria

Deutsche Gesellschaft der Plastischen, Rekonstruktiven und Ästhetischen Chirurgen. Vereinigung der Deutschen Ästhetisch-Plastischen Chirurgen. 46. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft der Plastischen, Rekonstruktiven und Ästhetischen Chirurgen (DGPRÄC), 20. Jahrestagung der Vereinigung der Deutschen Ästhetisch-Plastischen Chirurgen (VDÄPC). Berlin, 01.-03.10.2015. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2015. Doc051

doi: 10.3205/15dgpraec051, urn:nbn:de:0183-15dgpraec0515

Published: September 28, 2015

© 2015 Tuca et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

Text

Background: The evaluation of burned body surface and the degree of the burn is an essential step in the treatment of severely burned patients. Fluid resuscitation, surgical treatment as well as further burn treatment are based on these criteria. Thus, a precise determination of total body surface area (TBSA) affected by burns and burn depth is necessary.

Objective: The aim of this study was to show current methods and trends in evaluating total body TBSA and burn depth.

Material and Methods: 700 international experts were contacted via email and asked to join a online survey, which was available for 20 months. The survey contained following sections: “General Information, Assessment of %TBSA and Burn Depth, Acceptable difference between %TBSA estimation and reality”.

Results: 101 experts from 5 continents and 34 different countries took part in our special designed survey. 51% voted that in small burns (< 20% TBSA) a tolerance between ±0-2% difference between estimation and reality is acceptable. In major burns (> 50% TBSA) 45% claimed that ±2-5% error is acceptable, ±5-10% was accepted by 27%. For assessment of %TBSA and burn depth, 58% of the experts participating the survey stated using subjective methods and 36% objective methods.

Conclusions: As the results indicate, objectifiable methods for %TBSA and burn depth evaluation are tools mainly used in the scientific field and have not yet been established in clinical routine.