Initial Management of Burns

The incidence of burn injury has declined steadily over the past several decades in the United States and in some other developed countries. In-hospital fatality rates have also declined and are now only about 4 percent among patients with major injuries who are treated in specialized burn units.1,2 Despite this declining incidence, about 1.25 million persons are still treated for burns annually in the United States, and 50,000 are hospitalized each year for the treatment of burns.3 Seventy-five percent of those hospitalized have burns covering less than 10 percent of the body-surface area.1 Such burns rarely cause hemodynamic problems . . .