Classification of burn injury

• July 15, 2020
• Tony Guo
• no comments

Classification of burn injury

• Severity of injury is determined by
  • Depth of burn
    • Burns have been defined by degrees (first, second, third, and fourth)
    • ABA advocates categorizing burn according to depth of skin destruction
      • Partial-thickness burn
        • Superficial partial-thickness burn
          • Involves epidermis
        • Deep partial-thickness burn
          • Involves dermis
      • Full-thickness burn
        • Involves all skin elements, nerve endings, fat, muscle, bone
  • Extent of burn in percent of TBSA
    • Two commonly used guides for determining the total body surface area
      • Lund-Browder chart
        • Considered more accurate because the patient’s age, in proportion to relative body-area size, is taken into account
      • Rule of Nines
        • Used for initial assessment of a burn patient because it is easy to remember.
        • Sage Burn Diagram
  • Location of burn
    • Severity of the burn injury is also determined by the location of the burn
    • Burns to the face and neck and circumferential burns to the chest or back may interfere with breathing as a result of mechanical obstruction from edema or leathery, devitalized burn tissue (eschar)
    • Burns to the hands, feet, joints, and eyes are of concern because they make self-care difficult and may affect future function
  • Patient risk factors
    • Any patient with preexisting heart, lung, or kidney disease has a poorer prognosis for recovery because of the increased demands placed on the body by a burn injury