[Follow-up of patients with burn injuries following long-term ventilation]

Follow-ups were performed five years post burn on 13 severely burned patients after long-term ventilation in order to identify damage to the trachea and lung. The study comprised clinical examination, tracheal X-rays, pulmonary function tests with whole-body plethysmography for thoracic compliance, and spiroergometry. Tracheal stenosis was detected in five patients (38%), two patients had reduced total lung capacity and functional residual capacity was increased. Six patients had high values of pulmonary resistance. The comparison between actual and predicted physical work capacity in the spiroergometry showed a reduction below 85% of normal in five patients, but only one patient had a marked low output (51%). It is remarkable that patients after long-term ventilation, even after inhalation trauma have only minimal impairment of pulmonary function and physical work capacity five years after trauma. The high incidence of tracheal-stenosis after tracheotomy has to be considered as a serious finding.