Abstract:
Respiratory tract burns are one of the most serious injuries of human organism. They often accompany severe skin burns, increasing morbidity and mortality. Pathologic events happening in the lungs in the course of inhalation injury consist of: edema and necrosis of bronchial mucosa, increase of bronchial blood flow and vascular permeability, recruitment of inflammatory mediators, and obturation of bronchial tract with the casts composed of mucus, tissue debris, neutrophils and fibrin. The above mentioned processes lead to progressive disturbances of pulmonary gas exchange and tissue hypoxia. Introduction of standardized bronchoscopic procedures resulted in the possibility of early diagnosis and treatment of inhalation injuries. There are many treatment options, some of them combined with early and late complications, the optimal treatment protocol is still lacking. Early hyperbaric oxygen therapy is one of the most promising methods of treatment leading to decrease of mortality due to inhalation injury.
Wróblewski, Knefel, Trzaska, Kawecki, Nowak, Kozielski, , , (2011). [Respiratory tract burn injuries]. Pneumonologia i alergologia polska, 2011 ;79(4):298-304. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21678280