Noninvasive Ventilation in Patients with Major Burn Injuries

Abstract

Severe burns are one of the most devastating forms of trauma. In South Africa, burn injuries are the third commonest external cause of fatal injuries up to the age of 15 years and the main cause under the age of 4 years. In the Cape Town region, at least 6 in 10,000 children are seriously burned every year, and as many as 15 in 10,000 toddlers and infants [1–3]. The majority of pediatric burns are scalds sustained in the domestic setting, whereas most burns in adults and the more severe burns in children are caused by flames. These burns are most common in informal housing as a result of the use of paraffin stoves for cooking and heating. Other prominent causes of flame burns in adults include accidents in the workplace and as a result of epilepsy or interpersonal assault. Burn victims caught in enclosed spaces are frequently the most severely injured, and those who suffer smoke inhalation injury may have mortality rates over 30 % [4, 5].