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Foundation Briefings
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"BCPFF Burn Fund Building
to Boost Burn Care and Research"
"Two More Burn Victims
of Sugar Plant Blast Released From Hospital"
"Overseas Treatment
for Burn Victims"
"New Psychosocial
Study Findings Have Been Reported From Hallym University, Department of
Social Work"
"New Findings From
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Department of Surgery Describe
Advances in Post-Trials Research"
"Scientists at School
of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology Discuss Research in
Physiology"
"State Building Code
Council Votes to Adopt Child Electrical Safety Requirement"
"Younger Age,
Involvement on Neck or Arms Associated With Abnormal Scarring After Burn
Injury"
"Translational Systems
Biology: Introduction of an Engineering Approach to the Pathophysiology of
the Burn Patient"
"Iraq Burn Clinic
Offers Healing Touch"
"9/11 Survivor Offers
Tools to Face Burn Injuries"
"BCPFF
Burn Fund Building to Boost Burn Care and Research"
IAFF News Release (04/07/08)
The
British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters (BCPFF) Burn Fund is one step
closer to opening the Burn Fund Building in Vancouver, British Columbia,
after Concert Properties, a union construction company, made a $750,000
donation in services. The facility will be the first in North America to
provide clinical research, suites for long-term care patients and their
families, and a multi-media educational resource center. The
25,695-square-foot building is located in central Vancouver near Vancouver
General Hospital and the British Columbia Children's Hospital. "We
believe the Burn Fund building is the natural next step in the advancement
of treatment for burn patients," said BCPFF Burn Fund Executive
Director Tony Burke. "The facility will provide a higher level of care
that is not currently available to patients and their families."
"Two More Burn Victims of Sugar Plant Blast
Released From Hospital"
Associated Press (04/08/08)
Two
additional burn patients from the Feb. 7 Imperial Sugar plant fire near
Savannah, Ga., have been released from the hospital. They were discharged
from the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta. Only
five patients of the original 20 brought there remain. Three of the
remaining patients are in critical condition, one is in serious condition,
and another is in fair condition. Investigators have concluded that the
blast at the facility was fueled by airborne sugar dust.
"Overseas Treatment for Burn Victims"
Trinidad & Tobago Newsday (04/05/08) Banwarie, Ralph
Two
burn survivors in Trinidad and Tobago who were injured when the ambulance
they were riding in burst into flames are being flown to the Burns Unit
Hospital in Miami for treatment. The ambulance was carrying a cancer
patient, her mother, and her aunt when an oxygen tank reportedly exploded.
"New Psychosocial Study Findings Have Been
Reported From Hallym University, Department of Social Work"
Mental Health Business Week (04/05/08) P. 277
A new
report finds that active intervention by mental health workers after a burn
injury may prevent many burn survivors from experiencing psychosocial
problems such as personality change, post-traumatic stress, family trouble,
and financial burdens after their injury. The report examined 686
patients--most with burns on 10 percent or less of their bodies--and found
that two major risk factors for psychosocial problems were lack of family
support and living expense burden. Mental health providers may be able to
reduce psychosocial problems and assist with social rehabilitation, the
report concludes.
"New Findings From Shiraz University of Medical
Sciences, Department of Surgery Describe Advances in Post-Trials
Research"
Surgery Litigation & Law Week (04/04/08) P. 883
A new
survey of electrical burns by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Burn
Hospital in Iran found that such burns are occurring less frequently than
in the past and occur most commonly in males and at industrial sites. The
survey examined 1,352 patients at the Shiraz hospital over 30 months and
found that 4.73 percent of burns were electrical and 95.3 percent were male
with a mean age of 30.5 years. Nearly 60 percent were burned at their job
site, and 4.6 percent died from their injuries. The survey concludes that
even though injuries have been reduced, standardization of job sites and
safety training for workers is still sorely needed.
"Scientists at School of Medicine, Department of
Pharmacology Discuss Research in Physiology"
Biotech Law Weekly (04/04/08) P. 4106
The
role of oxidative stress in burns is the focus of a new study by A. Parihar
of the Southern Illinois School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology,
and colleagues. The existing research shows that an increase in xanthine
oxidase and neutrophil activation appear to be the oxidant sources in burns.
While free radicals have been found to fill a key role in antimicrobial
action and wound healing, after a burn the substantial production of
Reactive Oxygen Species is a factor in inflammation, systemic inflammatory
response syndrome, immunosuppression, infection and sepsis, tissue damage,
and multiple organ failure. As a result, the body's clinical response to a
burn depends on the balance between production of free radicals and its
detoxification. "Supplementation of antioxidants in human and animal models
has proven benefit in decreasing distant organ failure suggesting a cause
and effect relationship," says the study Oxidative Stress and
Anti-Oxidative Mobilization in Burn Injury. "We conclude that
oxidative damage is one of the mechanisms responsible for the local and
distant pathophysiological events observed after burn, and therefore
anti-oxidant therapy might be beneficial in minimizing injury in burned
patients."
"State Building Code Council Votes to Adopt
Child Electrical Safety Requirement"
Gaston Gazette (NC) (04/01/08)
Recently,
the North Carolina State Building Code Council voted to enact the 2008
National Electrical Code®, including the tamper-resistant outlet mandate.
Enforcement of the code is set to start June 1. NEC® Section 406.11 stipulates
that every 125-volt and 15- and 20-amp electrical outlet in new residential
buildings must be tamper-resistant receptacles. Such receptacles have
incorporated shutter systems that keep foreign objects from hitting
electrically live elements when they are inserted into the slots, although
plugs can be implemented and taken out. Tamper-resistant receptacles
provide automatic, ongoing, and permanent shielding against electrical
burns. "Including the tamper-resistant receptacle requirement in the
state electrical code enables North Carolina residents to drastically
reduce the number of children visiting emergency rooms for treatment of
electrical burns," notes National Electrical Manufacturers Association
industry director Helen Cook.
"Younger Age, Involvement on Neck or Arms
Associated With Abnormal Scarring After Burn Injury"
Disease Prevention Week (04/01/08) P. 67
Abnormal
scarring after burns is affected by factors like sex, age, burn site,
number of surgical procedures, and the type of skin graft, according to a
report in the March/April 2008 issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.
Unlike typical scars, abnormal or pathologic scars are caused by
disturbances in wound healing. Researchers at the University of Turin,
Italy, led by Ezio Nicola Gangemi, assessed the records of 703 patients
treated at an outpatient burn clinic between 1994 and 2006. Along with sex,
age, overall burn surface, cause of the burn, and wound healing time, they
observed the prevalence of different types of pathologic
scars--hypertrophic (enlarged), contracted, and scars with both
characteristics. The researchers found that females had a higher risk for
both pathologic burn scarring and most immune-related diseases such as
rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Younger patients with more active immune
systems were also found to be more prone to developing abnormal scars.
"Our data seem to support the role of the immune system for a number
of reasons," they wrote. The findings may help physicians enhance how
they tackle post-burn scarring, the researchers suggested. "Risk
information may be easily integrated into routine clinical practice for
early risk stratification, thus facilitating optimal medical prevention and
helping physicians adopt follow-up timing and more aggressive or
experimental therapies for subjects likely to be at high risk."
"Translational Systems Biology: Introduction of
an Engineering Approach to the Pathophysiology of the Burn Patient"
Journal of Burn Care & Research (04/01/2008) Vol. 29, No. 2, P. 277;
An, Gary; Faeder, James; Vodovotz, Yoram
The
inflammatory response to a burn can have negative effects in the acute
phase, including capillary leak and multiple organ failure. However,
inflammation is also a necessary part of the healing process that takes
place during the later stages of a burn. Though a main subject of burn care
research is how to deal with the acute phase problems, there is a lack of
effective clinical therapeutic treatments. Translational systems biology
(TSB), the application of mathematical models, and some engineering
principles to biological symptoms, can help revise clinical practices. A
recent study applies TSB to the area of burn inflammation and wound
healing, as well as creates a framework that links TSB with traditional
burn research.
"Iraq Burn Clinic Offers Healing Touch"
Fayetteville Observer (NC) (03/27/08) Maurer, Kevin
A burn
clinic in Iraq run by the 82nd Airborne Division is providing much-needed
care to Iraqi children and creating goodwill in the community. The clinic
is housed in two shipping containers and was originally a family practice
started by the Minnesota National Guard, but was turned into a burn clinic
due to the number of burns the clinic saw. The clinic treated 3,000
children last year, with most injuries caused by kerosene stoves and clay
ovens that exploded or by refueling of generators, which is often a child’s
chore. Only Iraqis are treated, and the clinic is funded by donations from
U.S. hospitals and citizens. Patients come from as far as 100 miles away
after hearing about the burn unit, and medics hope the word spreads even
further to counter negative impressions of the U.S. forces.
"9/11 Survivor Offers Tools to Face Burn
Injuries"
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (03/21/08) Wereschagin, Mike
Brian Birdwell, who survived burns over 60 percent
of his body when a plane crashed into his Pentagon office on Sept. 11,
2001, has been traveling the country as part of Face the Fire Ministries.
He visits burn centers and offers hope and encouragement to survivors and
their families. He recently toured the West Penn Burn Center at The Western
Pennsylvania Hospital, where people come from West Virginia, Maryland,
Ohio, and New York for burn care. Nurse manager Esther Atwood says that
while working there is grueling, very few staff members leave. "I have
a no-to-minimal turnover rate," Atwood says. "It is their
calling. It's not unusual for me to walk into that treatment room and see
60 years of experience." Birdwell said it is still difficult for him
to view burn center facilities after his long recovery. He was operated on
more than 30 times to rebuild his face and graft skin over most of his
body. His experience, though, gives him the authority to speak to other
survivors and give hope, he says. "I can look at them and say, 'I got
run over by a (Boeing) 757. And I'm enjoying life.'"
The
inclusion of articles in the IAFF Burn Foundation Briefing does not imply
the IAFF or IAFF Burn Foundation's endorsement of their content nor any
particular organizations or programs highlighted in these articles.
Articles are intended to increase awareness of media coverage of topics
relevant to our community and are provided for informational purposes only.
© Copyright 2008 INFORMATION, INC.
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