Burn resuscitation with a low-volume plasma regimen--analysis of mortality

The results of a mortality analysis from the Burn Center in Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, over a 5-year period are presented. The management of severe burns during the 'shock' period included a low-volume resuscitation formula consisting mainly of plasma and a small volume of crystalloid solution. The efficacy of burn management was assessed by probit analysis of the mortality data. We derived the percentage of body surface area burned associated with a 50 per cent probability of death (LA50) for four different age groups. The LA50 values obtained were compared to those obtained from other series; they compared favourably, demonstrating that resuscitation with low volumes consisting mainly of colloids may reduce complications associated with fluid overloading and therefore improve the LA50.