Diabetes mellitus and burns. Part II-outcomes from burn injuries and future directions.

Diabetes mellitus is an increasingly prevalent comorbidity in patients presenting to burn facilities. Diabetic patients tend to be older and present in a delayed manner with deeper injuries predominantly affecting the lower limb. Morbidity from burns is higher in this cohort including a longer length of hospital stay, greater need for surgical interventions and increased rate of infective complications.

Diabetes mellitus and burns. Part I-basic science and implications for management.

The number of diabetic patients presenting to burn services is predicted to increase significantly over the next decades. Diabetes mellitus represents an independent risk factor for sustaining burn injuries and mediates alterations to key physiological systems including the vascular, renal, nervous, gastrointestinal and immune system. The effects of the pathophysiological permutations need to be carefully considered during both the acute as well as the long-term rehabilitation phase of injury.