Publications by authors named "Radha K Holavanahalli"

Kinesiophobia, the fear of movement and reinjury, has not been described in burn injury survivors. Physical activity is a key component of burn rehabilitation programs. Yet, not all burn survivors exercise at the recommended level.

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The Burn Model System (BMS) program of research has been funded since 1993 by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The overarching aim of this program is to improve outcomes and quality of life for people with burns in the areas of health and function, employment, and community living and participation. This review reports on BMS contributions that have affected the lives of individuals with a significant burn injury using case reports to associate BMS contributions with recovery.

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A special supplement to the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2007 reported selected findings of research from the first 13 years of the BMS Centers and Database Coordinating Center. This special supplement is the second such effort and reports on the growth of the BMS National Longitudinal Database (BMS NDB) since that time and select new research findings from the BMS centers.

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Objective: To examine if range of motion of the shoulder treated with paraffin will be better than that of the shoulder treated with sustained stretch alone.

Design: Pilot randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Regional burn center.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This study investigates how heterotopic ossification affects elbow contracture by comparing the range of motion in patients with and without this condition, using data from a large national database.
  • - Findings indicate that patients with heterotopic ossification experienced significantly greater loss of elbow flexion compared to those without it, with differences noted across various burn size subgroups.
  • - The research highlights the need for further exploration into the functional implications of heterotopic ossification and the development of treatment strategies to address the associated joint flexion issues.
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Article Synopsis
  • * This study analyzed data from 659 adult patients to evaluate how contractures affected joint motion based on burn size and hospital stay length, using a national database from 1994 to 2003.
  • * Findings revealed that patients experienced a significant loss of normal motion (20° to 65°), with severity generally increasing alongside burn size and hospital stay duration, although wrist and certain lower extremity movements showed different trends.
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The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the 4-dimension (4-D) itch scale, a modified version of the 5-dimension itch scale, in a sample of individuals with severe burn injury and/or burn injuries to hands, face, and/or feet. Four of the five domains of the 5-dimension itch scale (4-D) were administered to individuals who reported itching (N = 173) in the Burn Injury Model System Centers Program longitudinal study at either 5 or 10 years after injury. Analyses of the scale included evaluation of dimensionality, internal consistency, associations with other symptoms or quality of life measures, and an examination of floor and ceiling effects.

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The Burn Rehabilitation Therapist Competency Tool (BRTCT) was developed in 2011 to define core knowledge and skill sets that are central to the job performance of occupational and physical therapists working with burn patients during acute hospitalization and initial rehabilitation. It was the first national effort to provide standards that burn centers could use for the training and evaluation of a BRT performance. The American Burn Association Rehabilitation Committee recently expanded the tool to include long-term rehabilitation and outpatient care in order to more fully represent all of the stages of care in which patients with burn injury receive therapy.

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The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) established the Burn Model System (BMS) in 1993 to improve the lives of burn survivors. The BMS program includes 1) a multicenter longitudinal database describing the functional and psychosocial recovery of burn survivors; 2) site-specific burn-related research; and 3) a knowledge dissemination component directed toward patients and providers. Output from each BMS component was analyzed.

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The authors have previously described long-term outcomes related to the skin in patients surviving large burns. The objective of this study was to describe the long-term musculoskeletal complications following major burn injury. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that includes a one-time evaluation of 98 burn survivors (mean age = 47 years; mean TBSA = 57%; and mean time from injury = 17 years), who consented to participate in the study.

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Pruritus (itching) is a common and distressing complaint after injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate self-reported postburn pruritus in a large, multisite cohort study of adult burn survivors. Descriptive statistics, general linear regression, and mixed model repeated measures analyses were employed to test statistical significance.

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The purpose of this study is to document the organization and current practices in physical rehabilitation across burn centers. An online survey developed for the specific purposes of this study sought information regarding a) logistics of the burn center; b) inpatient and outpatient treatment of patients with burn injury; and c) specific protocols in the treatment of a few complications secondary to burn injuries. Of the 159 responses received, 115 were received from the United States, 20 from Australia, 16 from Canada, and 7 from New Zealand.

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A number of factors increase the susceptibility of older adults to burn injury. The majority of studies of older adults have focused on patient and injury factors related to mortality risk. However, little is known about the long-term functional and psychological outcomes of older adults after severe burn.

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The objective of this study was to evaluate persons who have survived severe burns and to describe the long-term residual problems relating to the skin. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that included a one-time evaluation of 98 burn survivors (18 years old or older) who survived >or=30% TBSA burns, were >or=3 years postinjury, and consented to participate. Study participants were required to undergo a physical examination conducted by the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physicians in addition to completing study questionnaires.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the recovery of burn-related neuropathies by electrodiagnostic testing. Burn patients who presented to an American Burn Association verified burn center were interviewed and examined for clinical evidence of peripheral neuropathies by a physiatrist. Patients whom consented to participate were tested for electrodiagnostic evidence of peripheral neuropathy.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess whether the Burn Model System (BMS) population accurately represents the broader burn population and identify any validity threats in a dataset of severe burns.
  • The data were gathered from 5 burn centers in the U.S. since 1994 and compared against the National Burn Registry (NBR), which includes information from 70 hospitals across the U.S. and Canada.
  • Results indicated that while there were minor demographic differences, the BMS population is valid for research purposes, highlighting the need for careful analysis in future studies.
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Objective: To identify barriers to return to work after burn injury as identified by the patient.

Design: A cohort study with telephone interview up to 1 year.

Setting: Hospital-based burn centers at 3 national sites.

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Objective: To measure hand-specific functional performance after deep full-thickness dorsal hand burns.

Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional study.

Setting: The 2005 Phoenix Society's World Burn Congress, Baltimore, MD.

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We sought to identify whether patterns exist in the Burn Injury Rehabilitation Model Systems' database among participants lost to follow-up at 6, 12, or 24 months after injury and to define characteristics that reliably discriminate between persons who are lost to follow-up and those who are not. All participants met the American Burn Association criteria for major burn injury, were 18 years of age or older, received care from one of four burn model systems, and consented to participate in a 2-year prospective data-collection process. Step-wise logistic regression was used to develop three prediction models for the probability of loss to follow-up.

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