Abstract
There is an increased risk for burn injuries associated with home oxygen therapy of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease since 10 to 50 % of these patients continue to smoke. Enzymatic eschar removal of facial burns is gaining popularity but intubation of this specific patient group often leads to prolonged weaning and can require tracheostomy. This study dealt with the question if enzymatic debridement in these patients can also be performed in analgosedation. A selective review of the literature regarding burn trauma associated with home oxygen use in patients with COPD was performed, as well as a retrospective analysis of all patients with burn injuries associated with home oxygen use and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that were admitted to the study clinic. In the literature 1746 patients with burns associated with home oxygen use are described, but none of them received enzymatic debridement. In this study seventeen patients were included. All three patients in this study with facial full-thickness burn injuries received enzymatic debridement. The mortality rate in this cohort was 17.6 % (3/17). Up to date, there is limited experience performing regional anesthesia debridement in patients with COPD. This is the first manuscript describing the use of enzymatic debridement in patients with COPD and home oxygen therapy. We could confirm other studies that intubation of these patients leads to prolonged ventilation hours and increases the probability for poor prognosis. Therefore, we described the treatment of enzymatic debridement in analgosedation without intubation.
Home Oxygen Therapy: The Jury is Still in Session
