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Objective: The objective of this study was to conduct a survey of the academic contribution and influence of Chinese scholars in the field of burns.Method: The PubMed database was searched to obtain literature items originating from various countries and Chinese provinces from 1985 to 2014. The citation data were collected through the Google Scholar engine.Results: A total of 1037 papers published in 256 journals were included in this survey. China was second only to the USA in the number of publications on burns since 2010. In addition, the annual number of papers has increased significantly since 2001. The journal Burns published the most number of articles, but its proportion has been decreasing. Of the papers included in the survey, 58.34% were published in journals with a 5-year impact factor between 1 and 2, whereas only 3.66% were published in journals with an impact factor >5. Both total citations and citations per paper have decreased in the past decade. Randomized controlled trials or systematic reviews merely accounted for a small proportion. Twenty-nine provinces including 64 cities contributed one paper at least. The publications from Taiwan, Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Guangdong were high in both quantity and quality.Conclusion: The Chinese academic contribution to the field of burns is now on a rise. Although the quality of papers is lagging behind quantity, scholars and academies are dedicated to improving China's academic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Discussions regarding withdrawal of life support after burn injury are challenging and complex. Often, providers may facilitate this discussion when the extent of injury makes survival highly unlikely or when the patient's condition deteriorates during resuscitation. Few papers have evaluated withdrawal of life support in burn patients. We therefore sought to determine the predictor of withdrawal of life support (WLS) in a regional burn center.Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all burn patients from 2002 to 2012. Patient characteristics included age, gender, burn mechanism, percentage total body surface area (%TBSA) burned, presence of inhalation injury, hospital length of stay, and pre-existing comorbidities. Patients <17years of age and patients with unknown disposition were excluded. Patients were categorized into three cohorts: Alive till discharge (Alive), death by withdrawal of life support (WLS), or death despite ongoing life support (DLS). DLS patients were then excluded from the study population. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate predictors of WLS.Results: 8,371 patients were included for analysis: 8134 Alive, 237 WLS. Females had an increased odd of WLS compared to males (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.18-3.48; p=0.010). Based on higher CCI, patients with pre-existing comorbidities had an increased odd of WLS (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.08-1.52; p=0.005). There was a significantly increased odds for WLS (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.06-1.12; p<0.001) with increasing age. Similarly, there was an increased odd for WLS (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07-1.51; p<0.001) with increasing %TBSA. An increased odd of WLS (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.05-5.78; p=0.038) was also found in patients with inhalation injury.Conclusion: The decision to withdraw life support is a complex and difficult decision. Our current understanding of predictors of withdrawal of life support suggests that they mirror those factors which increase a patient's risk of mortality. Further research is needed to fully explore end-of-life decision making in regards to burn patients. The role of patient's sex, particularly women, in WLS decision making needs to be further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the monthly variation in the prevalence and patterns of unfinished nursing care and to determine the relationships between the system of nursing care and unfinished nursing care at the US Army Burn Center.Methods: This was a repeated measures, descriptive study. For one week per month for six months, all nurses providing direct patient care on two inpatient burn units (intensive care and progressive care) were asked to complete an anonymous paper survey, which contained the Perceived Implicit Rationing of Nursing Care instrument, to estimate the prevalence of unfinished nursing care on their unit. Unit administrative data also were collected from the unit nursing leaders each month. Descriptive statistics and multilevel modeling were used in the analysis.Results: Most (80.5%) eligible nurses participated at least once; 46.6% participated three or more times. A high proportion (85.7-100%) of nurses left at least one element of care unfinished; the mean number of activities left unfinished over each 7 shift period per nurse was 16.2. Only nursing care hours provided by float staff significantly predicted nurse estimates of unfinished nursing care, β=.008, SE=.001, p<.05.Conclusions: The prevalence of unfinished nursing care at the US Army Burn Center was high and generally consistent with other studies of unfinished nursing care in non-burn settings. The inability to meet the demand for nursing care, as evidenced by the presence of unfinished nursing care, may be the result of a limited surge capacity. Implications for research, policy, and practice were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]