Effect of a fish oil and arginine-fortified diet in thermally injured patients.

Burn injury induces a hypercatabolic inflammatory state, predisposing burn patients to malnutrition, poor wound healing, and infectious complications. We conducted this study to determine what effect a diet fortified with fish oil and arginine (FAD) would have on wound healing in a thermally injured population. Twenty-three thermally injured patients were enrolled in this randomized double blind enteral feeding study from July 2002 to August 2004.

Prospective analysis of nosocomial infection rates, antibiotic use, and patterns of resistance in a burn population.

Despite significant advances in burn care, infection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in burn patients. We sought to determine accurate infection rates, risk factors for infection, and the percentage of infections caused by resistant organisms. In addition, we attempted to identify interventions to decrease the use of antimicrobial drugs.

Methamphetamine-associated burn injuries: a retrospective analysis.

Methamphetamine production and use has increased dramatically during the past 10 years. Methamphetamine production requires combining hazardous and volatile chemicals that expose the manufacturer to burn injuries from explosions and chemical spills. We sought to review the epidemiology of burn injuries in a rural burn center secondary to the use of amphetamine or methamphetamine and/or the manufacture of methamphetamine.

The prevalence of venous thromboembolism of the lower extremity among thermally injured patients determined by duplex sonography.

Background: Morbidity and mortality from venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a significant problem for hospitalized patients. Despite the ample prospective literature defining the prevalence of VTE in hospitalized patient populations, the prevalence of VTE in the thermally injured population remains largely unknown.

Methods: We prospectively studied 148 thermally injured patients with hospital stays of greater than 3 days with lower extremity duplex ultrasonograms obtained at admission and discharge.

Population-based assessment of burn injury in southern Iowa: identification of children and young-adult at-risk groups and behaviors.

Although nonfatal burn injuries vastly outnumber fatal injuries, their epidemiology is not well defined. We sought to determine the epidemiology of nonfatal burn injuries in a largely rural region of a midwestern state to target intervention efforts at populations and injury mechanisms at risk. Data were retrospectively collected on a population-based sample of medically treated burn injuries in 10 counties in southern Iowa from 1997 to 1999 using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification codes (ICD-9-CM, Ncode 940-949) to identify burn-related emergency room visits from computerized lists.

Trash and brush burning: an underappreciated mechanism of thermal injury in a rural community.

Open-fire injuries associated with burning trash or brush result in a significant number of burn admissions annually. Trash- and brush-burning injuries are more prevalent in rural environments where open burning is an acceptable practice of waste disposal. These injuries are not "unavoidable accidents" but follow a predictable injury pattern.

Predicting survival in an elderly burn patient population.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the outcome of elderly burn victims and to determine an instrument to predict survival in this population. Charts of three hundred and eight burn patients > or =60 yr of age who were admitted to a university-based hospital between the years of 1977-1996 were retrospectively analyzed. The mean age of the population was 71.