Cooling extensive burns: sprayed coolants can improve initial cooling management - a thermography-based study.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Burn Management
• Thermoregulation

Background:

• Effective initial cooling is crucial for managing extensive burns.
• Current burn cooling methods may lack efficiency and homogeneity.
• Optimizing coolant delivery is essential for improved patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of sprayed coolant versus poured coolant for initial burn management.
• To compare the cooling effects, temperature decrease, and homogeneity between spraying and pouring methods.
• To assess the impact on core body temperature and determine the risk of hypothermia.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 53 healthy participants was conducted.
• Participants received cooling over 18% of their total body surface area for 15 minutes, twice.
• Thermographic imaging assessed skin temperature loss and homogeneity; infrared tympanic thermometry measured core body temperature.

Main Results:

• Sprayed coolant (1L) resulted in a significantly higher mean decrease in skin temperature compared to poured coolant (5L) (p < 0.003).
• Cooling was more homogeneous with the sprayed method for the initial 9 minutes (p < 0.003).
• Neither method led to hypothermia, with sprayed water proving more efficient even at a lower volume.

Conclusions:

• Spraying coolant significantly improves initial burn cooling efficacy and homogeneity.
• The sprayed method is more efficient, requiring less volume than the poured method.
• Cooling by spraying is a safe and effective approach for the initial management of extensive burns.