Top ten research priorities in global burns care: findings from the James Lind Alliance Global Burns Research Priority Setting Partnership.

Burns are a global issue that can result in lifelong multimorbidities and disproportionately affect people in low-resource settings. Prioritising research of importance to patients and health-care professionals improves evidence-based care. This prioritisation setting partnership was undertaken in global burn care (focusing on thermal non-electrical burns) by establishing a James Lind Alliance research priority setting partnership.

A clinician survey of skin substitute use in burns care in the UK and Ireland: The CASSIUS study.

Background: Skin substitutes are routinely used in burn surgery. Increasing numbers of marketed products, regional variation in use, and lack of high-quality research may be contributing to non-standardised care across units. Previous research has also shown that many healthcare professionals in burns care cannot correctly identify the constituents of skin substitute products, with medicolegal implications related to consent.

The rising NHS burden from cosmetic surgery procedures performed abroad and non-surgical procedures performed in the United Kingdom.

A growing number of patients are presenting to NHS hospitals with post-operative complications following cosmetic surgery and non-surgical procedures performed in the UK. A retrospective cross-sectional review of electronic records in patients presenting with cosmetic surgery/procedure complications was conducted at a London hospital across 17 months, and a patient survey was used to establish motivations for treatment. 96% of surgical patients presenting with complications had their procedure performed abroad, with the majority performed in Turkey (73%).

An international RAND/UCLA expert panel to determine the optimal diagnosis and management of burn inhalation injury.

Background: Burn inhalation injury (BII) is a major cause of burn-related mortality and morbidity. Despite published practice guidelines, no consensus exists for the best strategies regarding diagnosis and management of BII. A modified DELPHI study using the RAND/UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Appropriateness Method (RAM) systematically analysed the opinions of an expert panel.

Elevated 18:0 lysophosphatidylcholine contributes to the development of pain in tissue injury.

Tissue injuries, including burns, are major causes of death and morbidity worldwide. These injuries result in the release of intracellular molecules and subsequent inflammatory reactions, changing the tissues' chemical milieu and leading to the development of persistent pain through activating pain-sensing primary sensory neurons. However, the majority of pain-inducing agents in injured tissues are unknown.

A Randomized Trial of Enteral Glutamine for Treatment of Burn Injuries.

Background: Glutamine is thought to have beneficial effects on the metabolic and stress response to severe injury. Clinical trials involving patients with burns and other critically ill patients have shown conflicting results regarding the benefits and risks of glutamine supplementation.

Methods: In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned patients with deep second- or third-degree burns (affecting ≥10% to ≥20% of total body-surface area, depending on age) within 72 hours after hospital admission to receive 0.

RSTNCOVID Burns: A multi-centre service evaluation and stakeholder survey of the impact of COVID-19 on burns care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

As the UK entered the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Health Service published consensus guidance to the UK burns services advising changes to the acute management of burns to allow the continuation of safe care while protecting limited hospital resources. We aimed to describe the demographics of burns service users, changes to clinical pathways and experiences of the burns team during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. All burns services in the UK were invited to participate in a national collaborative, trainee-led study supported by the Reconstructive Surgery Trials Network.

Lactate dehydrogenase activity staining demonstrates time-dependent immune cell infiltration in human ex-vivo burn-injured skin.

Burn injuries constitute one of the most serious accidental injuries. Increased metabolic rate is a hallmark feature of burn injury. Visualising lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity has been previously used to identify metabolic activity differences, hence cell viability and burn depth in burn skin.

Colonic perforation following major burns: Experience from a burns center and a systematic review.

Background: Major burns complicated by stress ulceration and perforation of the stomach or duodenum is a recognized clinical phenomenon. Colonic perforation in burns patients is not common, and the overall incidence, diagnosis, intervention undertaken and mortality is incompletely described in the literature.

Method: We performed a systematic review of the literature on severe burns resulting in colonic perforation during the initial admission period.

The initial validation of a novel outcome measure in severe burns- the Persistent Organ Dysfunction +Death: Results from a multicenter evaluation.

Introduction: A need exists to improve the efficiency of clinical trials in burn care. The objective of this study was to validate "Persistent Organ Dysfunction" plus death as endpoint in burn patients and to demonstrate its statistical efficiency.

Methods: This secondary outcome analysis of a dataset from a prospective international multicenter RCT (RE-ENERGIZE) included patients with burned total body surface area >20% and a 6-month follow-up.

Hydrosurgical debridement versus conventional surgical debridement for acute partial-thickness burns.

Background: Burn injuries are the fourth most common traumatic injury, causing an estimated 180,000 deaths annually worldwide. Superficial burns can be managed with dressings alone, but deeper burns or those that fail to heal promptly are usually treated surgically. Acute burns surgery aims to debride burnt skin until healthy tissue is reached, at which point skin grafts or temporising dressings are applied.

Protocol for the development of a core indicator set for reporting burn wound infection in trials: ICon-B study.

Introduction: Systematic reviews of high-quality randomised controlled trials are necessary to identify effective interventions to impact burn wound infection (BWI) outcomes. Evidence synthesis requires that BWI is reported in a consistent manner. Cochrane reviews investigating interventions for burns report that the indicators used to diagnose BWI are variable or not described, indicating a need to standardise reporting.

In hot water: The impact of burn injuries from hot water bottles - Experience of a UK burns unit and review of the literature.

Introduction: Hot water bottles (HWBs) are a common domestic item in the UK. Their use is associated with burns injuries, either by contact for prolonged periods with the skin, or through the HWB leaking or bursting.

Methods: We used electronic health records to retrospectively review HWB related burns treated by the Burns Service at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital between January 2017-March 2018.

Implementation of a checklist to enhance operation note quality at a UK burns centre.

Introduction: Operation notes are fundamental for clinical, academic and medico-legal purposes. Good Surgical Practice (2014) provides guidelines to assist note completion but the literature suggests poor adherence to these. The aim of this study was to evaluate and improve operation note quality at a UK burns centre through implementation of a burns surgery-specific checklist.

Attribution bias underlying burns-induced anxiety symptoms.

Introduction: Burn injuries are a debilitating cause of morbidity and mortality associated with the long-term impact of psychological factors on quality of life. Accurate assessment of the differential impact of burn sequelae and anxiety is often complicated by the overlap between psychological and somatic symptoms in burns patients. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is one validated psychometric tool for anxiety assessment.

A comparative evaluation of spectrophotometric intracutaneous analysis and laser doppler imaging in the assessment of adult and paediatric burn injuries.

Introduction: Clinical assessment of mid-dermal burns can be challenging. Currently, laser Doppler imaging (LDI) is the gold standard adjunct in the assessment of burn injuries. Although LDI has demonstrated reliable accuracy, it poses various limitations in routine use including cost and ease of use.

Perioperative use of herbal, complementary, and over the counter medicines in plastic surgery patients.

Objective: Over the last 50 years, there has been a surge of interest by both the public and medical practitioners in therapies and disciplines that are not considered part of mainstream medical care. The title given to these is complementary and alternative medicine. Of all these branches, our interest is the increasing use of herbal medicines, traditional medicines (such as Chinese or Indian), homeopathy and "dietary supplements," and the influence they may have on our practice.