Chemical Burn Injury in Kumasi: The Trend and Complications following and Their Management
BACKGROUND:A chemical burn refers to irritation and destruction of human tissue caused by exposure to a chemical, usually by direct contact with the chemical or its fumes. The study investigated the trend and complications following chemical burns and their management. METHODS:The study involved a r...
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| Published in: | Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open Vol. 3; no. 10; p. e548 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
01-10-2015
Wolters Kluwer Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | BACKGROUND:A chemical burn refers to irritation and destruction of human tissue caused by exposure to a chemical, usually by direct contact with the chemical or its fumes. The study investigated the trend and complications following chemical burns and their management.
METHODS:The study involved a retrospective review of Burns Registry at the Burns Intensive Care Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital on patients who were admitted for burns from May 1, 2009 to April 30, 2013.
RESULTS:Chemical burns admissions accounted for 3.5% (n = 17) out of the total 487 burns cases, consisting of 12 males (70.6%) and 5 females (29.4%). Mean total burns surface area was 21.9%; mean length of stay in Burns Intensive Care Unit was 9.5 days. The etiological agents for the chemical burns included the followinghot caustic soda 1 (5.9%); acid 9 (53.9%)—the most common; hot ethanol 3 (17.6%); and other chemicals such as other bases, oxidizers, solvents, etc. accounted for 4 (23.5%) etiological agents. Outcome included 11 discharges (64.7%), 6 transferred out to other wards (35.3%), and 0 deaths (0.0%). The complications included severe scar contractures in 5 patients (29.4%), loss of visionpartial/total = 2 (11.8%), gross keloidal/hypertrophic scars = 10 (58.8%).
CONCLUSIONS:Chemical burns are severe and often cause severe debilitating sequelae including partial/total loss of vision. But the current study showed that only a small population (3.5%) were affected by chemical burns and no death was recorded; society has to be continually conscious of chemicals, especially caustic agents, and hence take the necessary precautions so as to prevent these avoidable complications. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 2169-7574 2169-7574 |
| DOI: | 10.1097/GOX.0000000000000519 |