Search

Introduction Patients with burn injuries are at an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). This predisposition is secondary to the endothelial injury, hyper-coagulable state and stasis (Virchow’s triad) associated with burn injury. Although the true incidence of VTE in burn patients has not been adequately quantified, symptomatic VTE occurs in 0.2–7% of this population. VTE prophylaxis has proven clinical effectiveness and affords a reduction in the morbidity associated with such events, but the benefits and risk of complications need to be balanced in order to provide the best quality of care. Owing to the lack of prospective data on VTE in burns, practice varies greatly, not only internationally, but also between local burns services. Our aim was to better understand current VTE practice within United Kingdom (UK) burn care services by performing a comprehensive survey. Methods We contacted all the inpatient burn care services in the UK and collected data on current VTE practice via a standardised questionnaire. Services were given the choice to complete the survey by telephone or email and a follow-up plan was formulated. Results Twenty-five burn care services were contacted and 23 agreed to participate (92% response rate). Responding services treated adults, children or both and lead burn nurses or senior medical staff familiar with current VTE practice were interviewed. Routine VTE prophylaxis was provided in 84% of burn services and the majority utilised a combination of chemoprophylaxis and thromboembolic deterrent stockings (TEDS). All used low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as their choice of chemoprophylaxis. Of those treating adults, all used a VTE prophylaxis protocol, but none of these applied to children. Only 56% of services treating children had such a protocol. The majority discontinued prophylaxis once patients were mobile. Discussion and conclusion Although the true burden of VTE in burn patients is unknown, we recognise that they are a population at risk. In addition to changes in the inflammatory and clotting pathways associated with thermal injury, prolonged hospital stay, ventilatory support, multiple surgeries, numerous central venous cannulations and reduced mobility all multiply this risk. The risk associated with the administration of heparin (bleeding complications and heparin-induced thrombocytopaenia) is low and can be reduced even further to 0.1% by the use of LMWH. The risk of symptomatic VTE is far greater, therefore the benefits of VTE prophylaxis would seem to outweigh the risks of not undertaking prophylactic measures. A higher LMWH dose and routine monitoring of anti-factor Xa levels are useful for acute burn patients. Two previous surveys, performed in Canada and the United States of America (USA), found routine administration of VTE prophylaxis to be 50% and 76% respectively. Of the 71 centres in the USA participating in the survey, 30% used a combination of sequential compression devices (SCD) and heparin and 24% did not provide VTE prophylaxis at all. A lack of prospective data on VTE in burn patients appears to be associated with diverse practice, and consensus on this topic could ensure that the potential morbidity caused by VTE is reduced. A clinical tool for identifying patients at risk and guidelines for management will standardise practice, which in turn should allow us to improve and maintain high quality care for burn patients.

Acute management of a severely burned patient is an infrequent and stressful situation that requires medical knowledge as well as immediate coordinated action. Many adverse events in health care result from issues related to the application of 'non-technical' skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership and decision making rather than lack of medical knowledge. Training in these skills is known as Crisis Resource Management (CRM) training. In order to create well-prepared burn teams, it is critical to teach CRM principles through high-fidelity simulation (HFS). While CRM teaches foundational non-technical skills, HFS incorporates lifelike, whole-body, fully-responsive mannequins in order to provide a realistic emergency situation. The aim of the study is to describe the development of a novel high-fidelity simulation course called "SIMBurns: High Fidelity Simulation Program for Emergency Burn Management" that uses CRM as its foundation and is focused on management of burn injuries. The course was designed by a panel of simulation and burns experts from Meyer Children's Hospital in Italy and Birmingham Children's Hospital in the U.K. Simulation Program experts were certified by Boston Children's Hospital's Simulation Program. In this paper, we describe the course's design, development, structure, and participant's assessment of the course. Since the creation of the SIMBurns course in 2013, 9 courses have been conducted and 101 participants have attended the course. The course was well-received and its "Overall Satisfaction" was rated at 4.8/5. The primary objective in the SIMBurns course - to teach teamwork and CRM skills to medical staff involved in emergency burn care - was also met at 4.8/5. Participants felt that the course developed their ability to interact with other team members, further improved their understanding of how to appropriately use resources, emphasized the importance of role clarity and developed their communication skills. Additional quantitative and qualitative analyses obtained from participants were also reviewed after each course. The SIMBurns course aims to contribute to the education of those in healthcare in order to improve patient safety and to continue advancing the education of our emergency burn care teams.

Background Exposure to air pollution during the first 1000 days of life (from conception to the 2nd year of life) might be of particular relevance for long-term child health. Changes in molecular markers such as DNA methylation and telomere length could underlie the association between air pollution exposure and pollution-related diseases as well as serve as biomarkers for past exposure. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the association between air pollution exposure during pregnancy and the first two years of life and changes in DNA methylation or telomere length in children. Methods PubMed was searched in October 2020 by using terms relative to ambient air pollution exposure, DNA methylation, telomere length and the population of interest: mother/child dyads and children. Screening and selection of the articles was completed independently by two reviewers. Thirty-two articles matched our criteria. The majority of the articles focused on gestational air pollution exposure and measured DNA methylation/telomere length in newborn cord blood or placental tissue, to study global, candidate-gene or epigenome-wide methylation patterns and/or telomere length. The number of studies in children was limited. Results Ambient air pollution exposure during pregnancy was associated with global loss of methylation in newborn cord blood and placenta, indicating the beginning of the pregnancy as a potential period of susceptibility. Candidate gene and epigenome-wide association studies provided evidence that gestational exposure to air pollutants can lead to locus-specific changes in methylation, in newborn cord blood and placenta, particularly in genes involved in cellular responses to oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, inflammation, growth and early life development. Telomere length shortening in newborns and children was seen in relation to gestational pollutant exposure. Conclusions Ambient air pollution during pregnancy is associated with changes in both global and locus-specific DNA methylation and with telomere length shortening. Future studies need to test the robustness of the association across different populations, to explore potential windows of vulnerability and assess the role of the methylation and telomere length as mediators in the association between early exposure to ambient air pollutants and specific childhood health outcomes.

Background and objective Children are potentially vulnerable to hot ambient temperature. However, the evidence on heat-related children's morbidity is still scarce. Our aim was to examine the association between temperatures in summer (May to September) and children's hospitalizations in two Mediterranean cities, Rome and Valencia, during the period 2001–2010. Methods Quasi-Poisson generalised additive models and distributed lag non-linear models were combined to study the relationship between daily mean temperature and hospital admissions for all natural, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases in children under 15 years of age. Associations were summarised as the percentage of change (Ch%) in admissions at 50th, 75th, 90th, 95th and 98th percentiles of temperature in summer compared to 1.) the 50th percentile in the whole year (50th(y)) and 2.) the preceding percentile in the previous series. Cumulated risks were obtained for groups of lags showing a similar pattern: 0–1, 2–7, 8–14 and 15–21 days. Results Almost whatever increase of temperature from 50th(y) was significantly associated with an increase of paediatric hospitalizations by all natural diseases at short term (lag 0–1), while small increases at high temperatures only had a delayed effect on this outcome. The same pattern was observed in Rome for respiratory admissions, while in Valencia only a delayed association (days 8–14) was observed. The increase of temperature from 50th to 75th percentiles was associated at short time to an increase of gastrointestinal admissions in both cities. Conclusion Children's hospitalizations rose with heat in Rome and Valencia. Patterns of delays and critical windows of exposure mainly varied according the outcome considered.

Objective We present our experience in the treatment of distal hypospadias using a modified Koff procedure, emphasizing the importance of patient selection for a good outcome. Materials and methods In 2003–2008, 90 patients, mean age 52.1 months, underwent surgical repair of distal hypospadias using urethral advancement according to Koff, modified with a Ψ incision on the tip of the glans. Meatal defect was glanular in six (8%), subglanular in 24 (26%) and coronal in 60 (66%) cases. Mild chordee was present in 19 patients (21%). Follow-up was 8–66 months. All patients were evaluated in terms of cosmetic results, and early and late postoperative complications. Results All patients showed excellent cosmetic results with urethral meatus on the tip. There was only one postoperative fistula due to extensive use of electrocautery during urethral mobilization that was surgically corrected 8 months after appearance. One patient had a postoperative meatal stenosis treated conservatively. No cases of residual chordee were detected. Conclusions Successful use of the modified Koff procedure depends on careful selection of patients. Good candidates are those with distal or mid-shaft hypospadias, presenting with: (1) absence or low degree of ventral chordee; (2) distal plate of urethra well developed; (3) distance between meatus and tip of glans at most 10–12 mm; and (4) glanular morphology preserved.

Purpose Urinary Tract Infection(UTI)is the most common clinical presentation of vesicoureteral reflux(VUR).However,VUR has also been reported in children with voiding disorders with or without history of UTI.The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of VUR in children presenting with urinary incontinence without a history of UTI among a large group of patients with intermediate and high grade VUR. Material and Methods The medical records of 1432 children diagnosed with intermediate and high grade VUR(Grade III to V)during 1998 to 2008 were reviewed. VUR was diagnosed in all patients by voiding cystourethrogram(VCUG).Renal parenchymal scarring was evaluated by DMSA scans and classified into three groups:mild with relative uptake between 40%and45%,moderate with relative uptake between 20%and40% and severe with relative uptake Results Of the 36patients with urinary incontinence,11children had day and night incontinence,6 had only daytime wetting and 19 had only bedwetting at night.There were 19boys and 17girls and their ages ranged from 4years to 12.1years(median age 6.5years).24children had unilateral VUR and 12 bilateral with a total of 48 refluxing units.VUR was grade II in 2ureters,grade III in 30ureters,grade IV in 15 and grade V in 1.Both patients with grade II VUR had a higher grade VUR on the contralateral side.11(30.5%) patients demonstrated renal scarring on DMSA scans.Scarring was mild in 5 patients,moderate in 5 and severe in 1patient. Conclusions Our large series of intermediate and high grade VUR has identified a small but definite subgroup of patients whose sole presenting symptom is urinary incontinence.We recommend VCUG in all children beyond the age of toilet training who present with urinary incontinence without UTI but sonographic evidence of pelvicalyceal and ureteral dilatation.

Purpose Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a relatively common cause of fever in infants. The association of VUR, UTI and renal parenchymal scarring (RPS) is well recognised. Susceptibility to RPS in VUR varies according to age and gender, with male infants under one year of age reported to be at greatest risk. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of RPS and risk factors for RPS in a large cohort of male infants who were diagnosed to have VUR after first documented febrile UTI. Material and Methods Between 1985 and 2008, 363 consecutive male infants were diagnosed to have primary VUR on voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG). 308 (85%) infants were hospitalised with the first documented febrile UTI and 55 (15%) infants with febrile UTI were managed as outpatients. Age at diagnosis in the 363 infants was defined as patient's age at the time of the first VCUG. RPS was evaluated by 99mtechnetium-DMSA scan performed at least 3months after the UTI. Results Among the 363 infants (median age 7 months),reflux was unilateral in 132 infants and bilateral in 231 resulting in 594 refluxing ureters. VUR was grade II in 19 (3.2%) ureters, grade III in 217(36.5%), grade IV in 276 (46.5%) and grade V in 82(13.8%) ureters. RPS was observed in 109 (34%) of the 321 patients who had DMSA scan. RPS was mild in 43 (39.4%) infants, moderate in 51 (46.8%) and severe in 15 (13.8%) infants. Ninety nine (90.8%) of the 109 infants with RPS had grade IV or V VUR. Conclusions Our data show that primary VUR in male infants diagnosed following a febrile UTI is often bilateral, high grade and associated with a high incidence of renal parenchymal scarring. Early identification and treatment of VUR in male infants may prevent UTI-related renal parenchymal damage and progression of renal damage in congenital reflux nephropathy.