First aid improves clinical outcomes in burn injuries: Evidence from a cohort study of 4918 patients

Publication date: Available online 15 October 2018Source: BurnsAuthor(s): Varun Harish, Neha Tiwari, Oliver M. Fisher, Zhe Li, Peter K.M. MaitzAbstractBackgroundAnimal studies indicate treating burn injuries with running water (first aid) for 20 min up to 3 h post-burn reduces healing time and scarring. There is a lack of human data to support such a recommendation. The purpose of this cohort study was to assess the effect of first aid on clinical outcomes.MethodsData was prospectively collected for patients with <10% total body surface area (TBSA) burns from 2007–2012. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the association of adequate first aid with four outcomes — wound depth, requirement for skin grafting, healing time (in non-grafted patients), and TBSA not grafted (in grafted patients). Adequate first aid was defined as the application of 20 min of cool, running tap water up to 3 h following the burn injury.Findings4918 patients were identified. Adequate first aid was received in 58.1% (2859) of patients. It was associated with a statistically significant reduction in burn wound depth (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.24–1.55; P < 0.001) but was not associated with a reduction in TBSA (P = 0.86) or requirement for grafting (P = 0.47). In patients not requiring grafting, those who received adequate first aid were healed on average 10% (HR 1.10; 95% CI 1.03–1.18; P < 0.01) or 1.9 days faster (...
Source: Burns - Category: Dermatology Source Type: research