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Published on: November 6, 2018
Subjective Tools for Burn Scar Assessment: An Integrative Review
Pollyana Thays Lameira da Costa1, Maria Elena Echevarría-Guanilo, Natália Gonçalves
1At the Department of Nursing, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil, Pollyana Thays Lameira da Costa, MSN, RN, is a Doctorate Student and Maria Elena Echevarría Guanilo, DNP, RN; Natália Gonçalves, PhD, RN; and Juliana Balbinot Reis Girondi, PhD, RN, are Professors. Adriana da Costa Gonçalves, PhD, is Professor of Physical Therapy, Centro Universitário Barão de Mauá de Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Acknowledgment: This study was completed as part of a scholarship funded by the Higher Education Personnel Improvement Coordination (Coordenação Aperfeiçoamento Pessoal do Nível Superior). The authors have disclosed no other financial relationships related to this article. Submitted September 3, 2020; accepted in revised form November 5, 2020.
The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale and Vancouver Scar Scale are common tools for evaluating burn scars. Improving their instructions can enhance consistency among evaluators assessing scar characteristics.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Plastic Surgery
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Burn scar assessment is crucial for treatment planning and outcome evaluation.
- Subjective assessment methods provide valuable patient and observer perspectives on scar quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review subjective burn scar assessment methods.
- To identify and characterize commonly used subjective scar assessment scales.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature search across multiple databases (2014-2018).
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria applied to 886 initial references.
- Full-text review of 188 selected studies.
Main Results:
- Identified 26 distinct subjective scar assessment forms.
- The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) were most frequently researched.
- POSAS and VSS share common assessment parameters like vascularization, pliability, pigmentation, and height.
Conclusions:
- POSAS and VSS are leading subjective tools for burn scar evaluation.
- Key parameters (vascularization, pliability, pigmentation, height) are vital for scar assessment.
- Standardized instructions are needed to improve inter-rater reliability and understanding of these scales.
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