Early and late fatal complications of inhalation injury.

Severe inhalation injury causes a substantial deterioration in the prognosis and increases the general mortality of patients with extensive burns. Recently, in particular due to the development of invasive monitoring of patients and effective treatment of acute burn shock, we encounter with increasing frequency patients who survive the acute stage, including complications such as ARDS, and reach the stage of late complications. The latter include tracheooesophageal fistulas that develop on the basis of pressure ulcers and chondromalacia, usually at the site of the balloon of the tracheostomic cannula, and the overproduction of fibrous tissue in the area of the airways which leads to the development of stenosis, pulmonary fibrosis and bronchiectasia. Frequently, different early and late complications combine.