TREATMENT OF BURNS

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Abstract
When the surface of the body has been damaged by flame, scalds or chemicals, plasma escapes from the circulating blood into the injured tissue and from the surface deprived of protective coating. The resulting hemoconcentration, if uncorrected, may prove fatal. The exposed tissues provide an excellent culture medium without the usual dermal barrier to infection. We have treated 32 patients suffering from burns which involved up to 45 per cent of body surface as measured by the scale devised by Berkow,1with two deaths. These 2 patients died in secondary shock within the first forty hours. Sufficient plasma or blood was not available to counteract the hemoconcentration. One patient had the entire left upper extremity completely charred. The other had a third degree flame burn involving 45 per cent of surface, mostly the trunk. There was no evidence of sulfadiazine toxic action on physical or laboratory examination during life.

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