The Treatment of Mass Burn Casualties Resulting from Mass Disaster

Abstract

Looking at the last decades, disasters involving multiple burn casualties are not exceptional. These disasters emanate from a large variety of causes. Natural disasters, human caused disasters as well as acts of warfare are included. The most common incidents usually happen with commercial or domestic fires, at transportation crashes (e.g., plane crashes), at the transportation or storage of inflammable materials (e.g., gas explosions), in the context of industrial accidents, terrorist attacks and events with mass gatherings. Because of the threat of terrorist attacks, but also the possibility of a “normal” catastrophe, it is meaningful for a burn centre to examine the treatment planning for a mass disaster of mass burn casualties. Recommendations for the preclinical care and for triage at scene and in the hospital will be shown. The planning in a mass burn disaster and a survey for the preparation of a clinic alarm plan for mass burn casualties will be described. In addition, admission of burn patients and their treatment in the clinic will be presented. Finally, advice for dealing with the media and for psychological support will be given. Furthermore it seemed meaningful to consider the experience with the temporary resorbable skin substitute Suprathel^® in this planning and to inaugurate a new concept for the treatment of mixed superficial and deep dermal (2a to 2b) burns as well as for the treatment of severely burned patients.

Mass burn disaster - mass burn casualties - triage at scene - triage in the hospital - planning in mass disaster - clinic alarm plan - preclinical burn care - early necrectomy - Suprathel^® - dealing with media - psychological support

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