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Initial Assessment of Burn Patient

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Essential Burn Care for Non-Burn Specialists

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Abstract

At some point in their career, non-burn specialists may be called upon to perform an initial assessment on a patient that sustained a burn injury. Most commonly, patients will present with superficial wounds that are uncomplicated, necessitating a non-intensive initial assessment. However, in some instances, a patient may present with severe burns accompanied with serious multisystem injury requiring high-level evaluation. Familiarity with burn-specific components of the initial assessment coupled with an effectively implemented referral system can help shorten hospital stay, reduce costs, minimize suffering, and optimize a patient’s recovery. In this chapter, the authors will describe how to perform the initial assessment of burn care in terms of careful evaluation of the patient, thorough assessment of the burn wounds, and determination of when specialty referral is needed. Basic principles of prehospital care and initial assessment considerations for special situations are also reviewed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston Shriners Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, USA

    Matthew A. DePamphilis & Robert L. Sheridan

  2. Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Matthew A. DePamphilis

  3. Division of Burns, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Matthew A. DePamphilis & Robert L. Sheridan

  4. Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Robert L. Sheridan

Authors
  1. Matthew A. DePamphilis
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  2. Robert L. Sheridan
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Correspondence to Robert L. Sheridan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Jong O. Lee

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DePamphilis, M.A., Sheridan, R.L. (2023). Initial Assessment of Burn Patient. In: Lee, J.O. (eds) Essential Burn Care for Non-Burn Specialists. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28898-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28898-2_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-28897-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-28898-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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