Extracorporeal Life Support in Adult Burn Care: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Trauma Surgery
• Burn Management

Background:

• Burn and smoke inhalation injuries present complex management challenges in adult patients.
• Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an advanced life support technique with potential applications in severe trauma.

Approach:

• A systematic literature search was performed using specific keywords to identify relevant studies.
• The PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Study design) approach guided the review methodology.
• A PRISMA flow chart was utilized to document the study selection process, filtering 269 articles down to 26 suitable for analysis.

Key Points:

• Growing evidence supports the use of ECMO in the adult population for managing burn injuries.
• The effectiveness of ECMO as a management strategy for smoke inhalation injury requires further investigation.
• Careful patient selection is crucial for optimizing the benefits of ECMO in this cohort.

Conclusions:

• ECMO is emerging as a potential therapeutic option for adult patients with severe burn injuries.
• The decision to implement ECMO should be based on a careful assessment of the likelihood of a successful outcome.
• Further research is warranted to fully elucidate the role and efficacy of ECMO in managing combined burn and smoke inhalation injuries.