TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 114. Escharotomy A1 - Reichman, Eric F. PY - 2013 T2 - Emergency Medicine Procedures, 2e AB - Few injuries have the same capacity for physical destruction and emotional devastation as do thermal burns. They are relatively common presentations that often require resource-intensive management. The preceding decade saw nearly 500,000 burn injuries per year receiving medical care in the United States. Over 40,000 of these patients required inpatient treatment for their injuries, and up to 25% of these injuries were work related. The associated expenses are staggering. The mean hospital stay was in excess of 1 week and at an average cost over 50,000 dollars per admission. Over this same 10-year period, an average of over 4000 individuals per year died as a result of burn-related injuries. Fires and burns now represent the fifth leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States.1 Conversely, less than 6% of the above patients who were admitted to a recognized burn center subsequently died as a result of their injuries.2–4 These data underscore the need for rapid and effective emergency care focused on facilitating the successful transfer of these patients to specialized burn centers. The initial management of these patients invariably falls upon the Emergency Department. The Emergency Physician needs to be well versed in the recognition of acute thermal injuries, their associated complications, and their appropriate treatment. SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/11/02 UR - accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57712027 ER -