Late complication of respiratory thermal injuries

Inhalation injury with severe burns is a most complex injury, and despite so much progress in therapy, resuscitation and ventilation it still has high mortality. The mortality rate is over 30%, depending on surface burns and complications. This paper is designed to present late complications and respiratory impairment in patients with severe thermal injury. Retrospective study of 51 patients from the years 2006 and 2007 evaluated late complications of the thermal lung injuries. Of 147 patients admitted to the Intensive care Unit (ICU), 51 had different type of inhalation injury as established by bronchoscope. All patients with inhalation injury had ventilatory support. None of the patients had pre-existing lung disease prior to injury. The patient demographic data was as follows: 48 male, 3 female patients; varying age from 6 to 79 years, mean TBSB 57 +/- 23%; mean third degree burns 42 +/- 18%; 11 patients had severe inhalation injury diagnosed by bronchoscopy and CT scan. The mortality rate was 45.1%. Bronchopneumonia was the most frequent complication, found in 92% of patients (46 patients). Fluidothorax was present in 20% of patients (11 patients), 36% of patients had ARDS (13 patients), and 5.8% (3 patients) had tracheoesophageal fistula.