Burn injuries frequently present to the emergency department. In the majority of cases, the burns are minor, yet they require a careful assessment, cleaning, dressing, and careful follow-up. Patients with more severe burn injuries, especially those associated with house fires or explosions, should be assessed carefully for multiple trauma, and care should be taken to protect the spine until injury can be excluded clinically or radiographically. The authors review the diagnosis, classification, and management of patients with sustained burns.
Hypothermia causes 700-800 deaths per year in the United States alone. Half of those who die are older than 65 years. Many patients are hypothermic when they arrive in the emergency department (ED), but hypothermia may result from or be aggravated by failing to protect the patient from heat loss, administering room temperature or chilled IV fluids or blood, or using drugs that suppress shivering.
