ABSTRACT
Although most scald burn injuries involve children under six, because of the challenges of using head mounted displays with young children there is very little research exploring the use of VR in children under six. The current clinical pilot study measured the analgesic effectiveness of our new desktop VR system (with no VR helmet) in children under six during burn wound care (a within-subjects design with randomized treatment order). Between December 2021-April 2022, nine children with burn injuries (10 months to 5 years age, mean = 18 months) participated. The mean burn size was 10% Total Body Surface Area, range 2-22%. Using nurse's ratings, VR significantly reduced children's pain during burn wound care by 40% on the observational Faces, Legs, Activity, Crying, and Consolability (FLACC) pain scale. Specifically, non-parametric within-subject sign tests compared nurse's ratings of the young patients' pain during burn wound care using usual pain medications with no VR = 6.67, (SD = 2.45) vs. adjunctive Animal Rescue World VR (VR = 4.00, SD = 2.24, p < 0.01). The observational Procedure-Behavior Checklist (PBCL) nurse's scale measured a 34% reduction in anxiety with VR as compared to pharmacologic treatment alone (p < 0.005). Similarly, when using single graphic rating scales the patients' parents reported a significant 36% decrease in their child's pain during VR (p < 0.05), a 38% (p < 0.005) decrease in their child's anxiety during VR, and a significant increase in patients' joy during VR. It can be concluded that during burn wound care with no distraction (traditional pain medications), children under 6 years old experienced severe pain during a 10 min burn wound cleaning session. During burn wound care combining desktop virtual reality and traditional pain medications, the same pediatric patients experienced only mild pain during burn wound cleaning/debridement. VR significantly reduced the children's pain and anxiety during burn wound care.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To first describe the epidemiological data of burns, including burn types and burn-related infections, in adult and pediatric patients. Second, to determine the effect of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on length of hospital stay and, third, to determine if the microbiological profile differs in patients with severe and non-severe burns. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review in which medical records of all burn patients admitted to Al-Noor Specialist Hospital, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between January 2016 and January 2017 were reviewed for demographic, microbiological, and burn data using a data-collection sheet. No randomization was necessary as all patients were included. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed on the collected data. Results: Of 250 patients, 53.6% were pediatric patients and 68.4% were male patients. The most common organism in blood and wound cultures of minor burns was Staphylococcus aureus. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) frequency was 82.5%. Length of stay increased in patients with infected burn injuries. Conclusion: The pediatric population had a high frequency of burn injuries, representing an incentive for more focused educational prevention programs in that group. Additionally, burn infections carry significant morbidity, and are associated with longer hospital stay. These data can help implement various prevention programs.
