Citation

Giretzlehner M, Dirnberger J, Owen R, Haller HL, Lumenta DB, Kamolz LP. Burns 2013; 39(6): 1107-1113.

Affiliation

Research Unit Medical-Informatics, RISC Software GmbH, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Hagenberg, Austria. Electronic address: michael@giretzlehner.at.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.burns.2013.01.021

PMID

23566430

Abstract

Burn depth and burn size are crucial determinants for assessing patients suffering from burns [1]. Therefore, a correct evaluation of these factors is optimal for adapting the appropriate treatment in modern burn care. Burn surface assessment is subject to considerable differences among clinicians [2]. This work investigated the accuracy among experts based on conventional surface estimation methods (e.g. "Rule of Palm", "Rule of Nines" or "Lund-Browder Chart"). The estimation results were compared to a computer-based evaluation method. Survey data was collected during one national and one international burn conference. The poll confirmed deviations of burn depth/size estimates of up to 62% in relation to the mean value of all participants. In comparison to the computer-based method, overestimation of up to 161% was found. We suggest introducing improved methods for burn depth/size assessment in clinical routine in order to efficiently allocate and distribute the available resources for practicing burn care.

Language: en