Inhalation Injury

Abstract

Despite significant advances in wound care of patients with burn injuries, inhalation injury remains as an important contributor to morbidity and mortality in these patients. Unfortunately, there are limited studies that have focused on the diagnosis, grading, pathophysiology, and therapy of inhalation injury, therefore a widely accepted consensus is lacking on these topics. Inhalation injury is generally defined as the inhalation of thermal or chemical irritants and can be divided into three types of injury: thermal injury, which is mostly restricted to the upper airway; chemical injury, which affects tracheobronchial tree; and systemic toxicity owing to toxic gases such as carbon monoxide. Inhalation injury increases the burn injury associated morbidity and mortality by causing airway problems and respiratory failure during the early phase and by contributing to the development of pneumonia and atelectasis during the late phase. Additionally, systemic effects of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide may also adversely affect the early and long-term outcome in burn victims. The early diagnosis and therapy of these problems plays a key role in improving the outcome of burn patients. (Journal of the Turkish Society Intensive Care 2011; 9 Suppl: 37-45)

Keywords

• Inhalation injury
• burn injury
• respiratory failure
• airway management