Long-term medical treatment of patients with severe burns at exposed sites

BACKGROUND: Body parts such as the face and hands are highly exposed during daily life and burns may accumulate in these areas. In addition, residual wounds, scar hyperplasia and contracture often exist in the late stage of a deep burn in these areas, which may affect patients’ appearance, movements, and mental health. However, inadequate attention has been paid to this issue which can result in problems, such as difficulty in healing, possibility of carcinoma, chronic pain and a heavy mental burden. AIM: To investigate the long-term medical treatment of patients with severe burns at exposed sites following a mass burn casualty event. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 13 patients with severe burns at exposed sites was performed to determine their respective long-term medical treatment. A combined wound dressing scheme consisting of traditional Chinese and Western medicine was introduced to repair residual wounds. Active and passive functional exercises with massage, Chinese herbal baths and compression fixation were proposed to ameliorate the condition of the hands. A combination of physical, chemical and photoelectrical measures was adopted for anti-scar treatment. A psychological intervention and recovery guide was provided which corresponded to the patients’ psychological status. RESULTS: Compared to patients who did not simultaneously receive the same treatment, patients who underwent systematic treatment recovered with a lower wound infection rate (P < 0.05), a shorter healing time (13.6 ± 3.2 d) compared with (19.1 ± 3.5 d) and more bearable pain during wound dressing at three days, one week and two weeks after a Chinese herbal bath (P < 0.05). Satisfactory results were achieved with regard to restored function of patients’ joints and blood supply to nerve endings, closure of the eyelids and the size of mouth opening tended to be normal, and only 7.1% of patients were diagnosed with severe scar hyperplasia and contracture deformity compared with 30.7% in the control group. In addition, the color, thickness, vascular distribution and softness score of the scars improved (P < 0.01), and the effects of the psychological intervention was remarkable as shown by the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale. CONCLUSION: A better prognosis can be achieved in patients in the late stage of a burn with active residual wound repair, limb functional exercise, anti-scar and psychological rehabilitation.