COOLING IN THE EMERGENCY TREATMENT OF BURNS
Keyword(s):
Recent correspondence in the Lancet1-3 has called attention to the benefit of immediate cooling in the treatment of thermal injuries. This simple form of first aid can be provided as well by the layman as by the health professional and, more importantly, sooner. Given the same thermal stimulus, prompt cooling can mean the difference between extensive deep burns and more limited superficial injuries. What is the evidence to back this claim? The studies of Henriques and Moritz4 and Ofeigsson5 indicate that after hot water or flame exposure the temperature of skin and of the deeper tissue layers remains high enough to result in a period of extension of coagulation necrosis.