Foetal wounds are unique in their ability to heal rapidly without forming scars. The amniotic fluid, rich in nutrients, growth factors, and hyaluronic acid, surrounds the foetus and is essential to foetal wound healing. The wound healing properties of foetal wounds may be the result of high concentrations of hyaluronic acid. This study aimed to verify that amniotic fluid induces re-epithelialisation in human skin wounds in vitro and to study whether this ability is dependent on hyaluronic acid. Standard deep dermal wounds were produced in vitro in human skin. The skin samples, with a central wound, were incubated in different culture media. Varying concentrations of amniotic fluid and amniotic fluid with added hyaluronidase were tested, and re-epithelialisation was assessed at 3, 7, and 12 days using light microscopy, after staining with haematoxylin and eosin. Amniotic fluid 50% resulted in a significantly higher (p andlt; 0.05) grade of re-epithelialisation than Dulbeccos modified Eagles medium and 10% amniotic fluid at all time points. When 50% amniotic fluid was compared with 10% foetal calf serum, no significant difference was found in grades of re-epithelialisation on days 3 and 12 and significantly higher grades of re-epithelialisation on day 7 (p andlt; 0.05). Degradation of hyaluronic acid in the medium that contained 50% amniotic fluid gave significantly impaired re-epithelialisation (p andlt; 0.05) on culture days 3 and 7. In conclusion, amniotic fluid promotes accelerated re-epithelialisation and hyaluronic acid is an important ingredient.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the Swedish medical systems response to a mass casualty burn incident in a rural area with a focus on national coordination of burn care. Data were collected from two simulations of a mass casualty incident with burns in a rural area in the mid portion of Sweden close to the Norwegian border, based on a large inventory of emergency resources available in this area as well as regional hospitals, university hospitals and burn centres in Sweden and abroad. The simulation system Emergo Train System (R) (ETS) was used and risk for preventable death and complications were used as outcome measures: simulation I, 18.5% (n = 13) preventable deaths and 15.5% (n = 11) preventable complications; simulation II, 11.4% (n = 8) preventable deaths and 11.4% (n = 8) preventable complications. The last T1 patient was evacuated after 7 h in simulation I, compared with 5 h in simulation II. Better national coordination of burn care and more timely distribution based on the experience from the first simulation, and possibly a learning effect, led to a better patient outcome in simulation II. The experience using a system that combines both process and outcome indicators can create important results that may support disaster planning.

pediatric burn injuries are common, there is a lack of burn-specific health outcome measurements for children. The American Burn Association and the Shriners Hospitals for Children have developed the Burn Outcomes Questionnaire (BOQ), which is a parent-report questionnaire measuring the functional outcome after burn in children aged 5 to 18 years. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the BOQ, assessing feasibility, reliability, and validity aspects. Participants were parents (n = 70) of children aged 5 to 18 years who were treated at the Uppsala or Linkoping burn center between January 2000 and December 2008. For most subscales, feasibility was adequate and the internal consistency was good: Cronbachs a values were above 0.76 in all but 1 subscale, and mean interitem correlations ranged from 0.34 to 0.90. The test-retest reliability was significant in the majority of subscales. Evidence of validity was shown by associations among the BOQ subscales and between BOQ subscales and measures of burn severity, heat sensitivity, fear-avoidance beliefs, and parent reports of the childs psychological problems. In conclusion, with the exception of a few subscales, this study supports the continued evaluation of the Swedish version of BOQ as a tool to measure outcome after burn in children aged 5 to 18 years.

Background: Hypothermia in burns is common and increases morbidity and mortality. Several methods are available to reach and maintain normal core body temperature, but have not yet been evaluated in critical care for burned patients. Our units ordinary technique for controlling body temperature (Bair Hugger®+ radiator ceiling + bed warmer + Hotline®) has many drawbacks e.g.; slow and the working environment is hampered.The aim of this study was to compare our ordinary heating technique with newly-developed methods: the Allon™2001 Thermowrap (a temperature regulating water-mattress), and Warmcloud (a temperature regulating air-mattress).Methods: Ten consecutive burned patients (andgt; 20% total burned surface area and a core temperature andlt; 36.0C) were included in this prospective, randomised, comparative study. Patients were randomly exposed to 3 heating methods. Each treatment/measuring-cycle lasted for 6 hours. Each heating method was assessed for 2 hours according to a randomised timetable. Core temperature was measured using an indwelling (bladder) thermistor. Paired t-tests were used to assess the significance of differences between the treatments within the patients. ANOVA was used to assess the differences in temperature from the first to the last measurement among all treatments. Three-way ANOVA with the Tukey HSD post hoc test and a repeated measures ANOVA was used in the same manner, but included information about patients and treatment/measuring-cycles to control for potential confounding. Data are presented as mean (SD) and (range). Probabilities of less than 0.05 were accepted as significant.Results: The mean increase, 1.4 (SD 0.6C; range 0.6-2.6C) in core temperature/treatment/measuring-cycle highly significantly favoured the Allon™2001 Thermowrap in contrast to the conventional method 0.2 (0.6)C (range -1.2 to 1.5C) and the Warmcloud 0.3 (0.4)C (range -0.4 to 0.9C). The procedures for using the Allon™2001 Thermowrap were experienced to be more comfortable and straightforward than the conventional method or the Warmcloud.Conclusions: The Allon™2001 Thermowrap was more effective than the Warmcloud or the conventional method in controlling patients temperatures. © 2011 Kjellman et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Objective: To compare three International Classification of Diseases code abstraction strategies that have previously been reported to mirror severe sepsis by examining retrospective Swedish national data from 1987 to 2005 inclusive. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Swedish hospital discharge database. Patients: All hospital admissions during the period 1987 to 2005 were extracted and these patients were screened for severe sepsis using the three International Classification of Diseases code abstraction strategies, which were adapted for the Swedish version of the International Classification of Diseases. Two code abstraction strategies included both International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes, whereas one included International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes alone. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: The three International Classification of Diseases code abstraction strategies identified 37,990, 27,655, and 12,512 patients, respectively, with severe sepsis. The incidence increased over the years, reaching 0.35 per 1000, 0.43 per 1000, and 0.13 per 1000 inhabitants, respectively. During the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision period, we found 17,096 unique patients and of these, only 2789 patients (16%) met two of the code abstraction strategy lists and 14,307 (84%) met one list. The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision period included 46,979 unique patients, of whom 8% met the criteria of all three International Classification of Diseases code abstraction strategies, 7% met two, and 84% met one only. Conclusions: The three different International Classification of Diseases code abstraction strategies generated three almost separate cohorts of patients with severe sepsis. Thus, the International Classification of Diseases code abstraction strategies for recording severe sepsis in use today provides an unsatisfactory way of estimating the true incidence of severe sepsis. Further studies relating International Classification of Diseases code abstraction strategies to the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine scores are needed.

Akut pediatrik är en klassiker i den svenska medicinska litteraturen, och en första handbok för läkare och sjuksköterskor i deras arbete med sjuka barn och ungdomar. Boken är helt inriktad på de omedelbara och ofta livräddande åtgärder som krävs vid allvarliga akuta sjukdomstillstånd och olyckor.Läs merDenna sjunde upplaga av Akut pediatrik har kompletterats med flera nya kapitel, bland annat ett introduktionsavsnitt om det akut svårt sjuka barnet. Alla kapitel är reviderade med målgruppen i åtanke - primärjour - och med fokus på handläggning under det första dygnet. Boken har många nya faktarutor och algoritmer som ger precisa instruktioner för respektive tillstånd.Om författarnaAkut pediatrik är skriven av vårt lands främsta specialister under redaktion av Svante Norgren, Jonas F. Ludvigsson och Mikael Norman.RecensionerGenom sin moderna layout, rikligt med flödesscheman, tabeller, faktarutor samt överskådlig innehållsförteckning och täckande register fungerar den utmärkt som uppslagsbok./.../Boken ger riklig och adekvat information till sin målgrupp.

Burn injury can be a life-threatening and traumatic event. Despite considerable risk for psychological morbidity, few outcome measures have been evaluated. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) in patients 1 year after burn injury (N = 147). A principal component analysis was performed, and the results supported the three-factor structure of the IES-R. High internal consistency and intelligible associations with concurrent psychological symptoms and known risk factors for distress after trauma indicate satisfactory psychometric properties. Thus, the study supports the use of the IES-R as a screening tool for measuring traumatic distress after burn.

If a biodegradable scaffold is applied, the dermis can be regenerated by guided tissue regeneration. Scaffolds can stimulate in-growth of cells from the surroundings that migrate into them and start to produce autologous extracellular matrix as the scaffold is degraded. Several materials are available, but most of them are in the form of sheets and need to be laid on an open wound surface. A number of injectable fillers have been developed to correct soft-tissue defects. However, none of these has been used for guided tissue regeneration. We present a new technique that could possibly be used to correct dermal defects by using macroporous gelatine spheres as a biodegradable scaffold for guided tissue regeneration. In eight healthy volunteers, intradermal injections of macroporous gelatine spheres were compared with injections of saline and hyaluronic acid (Restylane (R)). Full-thickness skin biopsy specimens of the implants and surrounding tissue were removed 2, 8, 12 and 26 weeks after injection, and the (immuno) histological results were analysed. The Restylane (R) merely occupied space. It shattered the dermal tissue and compressed collagen fibres and cells at the interface between the implant and the dermis. No regeneration of tissue was found with this material at any time. The macroporous gelatine spheres were populated with fibroblasts already after 2 weeks. After 8 weeks the spheres were completely populated by fibroblasts producing dermal tissue. After 12 and 26 weeks, the gelatine spheres had been more or less completely resorbed and replaced by vascularised neodermis. There were no signs of capsular formation, rejection or adverse events in any subject. Further in vivo studies in humans are needed to evaluate the effect of the macroporous spheres fully as a matrix for guided tissue regeneration with and without cellular pre-seeding. However, the results of this study indicate the possibility of using macroporous gelatine spheres as an injectable, three-dimensional, degradable matrix for guided tissue regeneration.

Treatment of necrotizing fasciitis (NF) includes radical surgical debridement often resulting in large wounds that need to be closed with methods including split-thickness skin grafts (STSG), local flaps, or guided tissue regeneration procedures. In this case report, a 45 year-old Caucasian male was surgically treated for a benign left groin hernia, developed NF, and was transferred to the authors burn unit. The wound was treated initially with wide debridement and with a brief delay before finally closing the wound. A collagen matrix such as Integra (R) Dermal Regeneration Template (Integra LifeSciences, Plainsboro, NJ) in combination with STSG and negative pressure wound treatment, can provide fast recovery resulting in pliable, functional skin.