Successful treatment for multiple patients with severe burn injury complicated by inhalation injury / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the emergency treatment,diagnosis and integrative treatment for the patients with severe burn injury combined with inhalation injury.Methods Thirty-five burn victims in a mass casualty were airlifted to our Burns Institute from a remote area on second day post-burn,including 14 patients who had received emergent tracheostomy for inhalation injury.After hospitalization,bronchoscopic examinations were done for further evaluating the inhalation injury,and timely locating and removing of sputum crust and necrotic mucosa from the airway in patients with signs of dyspnea,and helping decide the opportune time of removing the tracheostomy tube.The "artificial nose" and intratracheal instillation and lavage were used for humidifying the mucosa of the tracheobronchial tree.The stryker frame,vibrator and expectorant were also used to facilitate expectoration.Epidermis growth factor was topically used for promoting the restoration of the injured endotracheal mucosa.Results The degree of inhalation injury in fourteen patients with tracheostomy was identified through bronchoscopy as moderate(3 cases),severe(8 cases),and very severe(3 cases).The tracheostomy tubes were removed within one week in seven patients(50.0%),and during the second week post-burn in six patients(43%).The removal of tube was delayed in the remaining patients until 42nd day post-burn because of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.Pulmonary infection occurred in two patients on the 10th day post-burn,and pathogens were found in tracheo-bronchial discharge in three patients.Conclusion Emergent tracheostomy should be performed the earlier the better for severe inhalation injury,and bronchoscopy was desirable for distinct diagnosis and treatment,especially for estimating the repair of tracheal mucosa and deciding the time for removal of the tracheostomy tube.Moistening the tracheo-bronchial tree through instillation of fluid with drugs and "artificial nose",and the use of Stryker frame,vibrator and expectorant were effective in facilitating expectoration and preventing lung infection.Topical use of epidermis growth factor may be helpful for the repair of injured tracheal mucosa.