IMMEDIATE CARE OF THE BURN PATIENT Prehospital care

IMMEDIATE CARE OF THE BURN PATIENT Prehospital care

Good prehospital care is essential in ensuring rapid assessment and transfer. The key principles are: /uni25CF Ensure rescuer safety . This is particularly important in the case of electrical and chemical injuries and building fires. /uni25CF Stop the burning process . Stop, drop and roll is a good method of extinguishing fire burning on a person. /uni25CF Check for other injuries . A standard ABC (airway– breathing–circulation) check followed by a rapid second ary survey will ensure that no other significant injuries are missed. Patients burned in explosions or even escaping from fires can have coexisting fractures or blast pattern injuries. /uni25CF Cool the burn wound . This provides analgesia and slows the delayed microvascular damage that can occur after a burn injury . Cooling should occur for a minimum of 20 minutes and is e ff ective up to 1 hour after the burn injury . It is a particularly important first aid step in climates, cooling should be at about 15°C – tepid water – and hypothermia must be avoided, particularly in the extremes of age. /uni25CF Give oxygen . Anyone involved in a fire in an enclosed space should receive oxygen, especially if there is an al - tered consciousness level. /uni25CF Elevate . Sitting a patient up with a burned airway may prove life-saving in the event of a delay in transfer to hos - pital care. Elevation of burned limbs will reduce swelling and discomfort. /uni25CF Analgesia . Administration of analgesia prior to or during transfer will alleviate pain.