Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J L Finkelstein.
This article describes the management of burn injuries in children. It begins with an epidemiologic description of pediatric burns. Attention is given to emergency care, burn wound evaluation, operative management, and rehabilitative goals.
This article briefly reviews the pathophysiology of burn wounds as a basis for a more detailed discussion on the resuscitation of burn patients with lactated Ringer's solution or other regimens. The complications resulting from such resuscitation are also reviewed.
Ninety-five patients with stab wounds to the lower chest and abdomen underwent routine abdominal exploration. Eighteen of these patients had diaphragmatic injury and in five patients it was the only injury found. Isolated diaphragmatic injury in asymptomatic patients cannot be reliably delineated by either serial physical examination or peritoneal lavage. Delayed recognition of incarcerated diaphragmatic hernia after stab wounds to the lower left chest and upper abdomen has an associated mortality rate of 36%. The anatomic area of concern can be defined as stab wounds that penetrate the left side of the chest below the fourth intercostal space anteriorly, the sixth intercostal space laterally, and the tip of the scapula posteriorly. Exploratory laparotomy is necessary in these patients until a reliable nonoperative method is established that can exclude injuries to the diaphragm.
Three consecutive studies were performed in 58 patients evaluating the effect of occlusion on the healing of partial-thickness wounds. Mirror-image donor sites were covered with the occlusive hydrocolloid dressing (HCD) (DuoDerm) and compared to fine mesh gauze, and the HCD was subsequently compared to a semi-occlusive dressing of polyurethane film, (Op-site). In addition, partial-thickness burn wounds were covered with the HCD and the remaining burn wound was treated with silver sulfadiazine. The donor sites and burn wounds treated with HCD healed significantly faster than those covered with fine mesh gauze or silver sulfadiazine (p less than 0.001) and with less pain. The HCD and polyurethane film were equivalent. There were no clinical infections with the wounds that were occluded. The exudate collected beneath the DuoDerm and Op-site on donor sites was added to the tissue culture system and resulted in a modest increase in keratinocyte proliferation. However, the exudate from burn wounds under HCD resulted in a marked increase in cell proliferation (p less than 0.001).
Stratification of human epidermal cells into multilayered sheets composed of basal and suprabasal layers (resembling the stratum germinativum and stratum spinosum of the epidermis) was studied in a dermal component-free culture system. Although no stratum corneum developed in vitro, this culture system provided a method to study early events in human keratinocyte differentiation. Multiparameter flow cytometric analysis of acridine orange-stained epidermal cells from these cultures revealed three distinct subpopulations differing in cell size, RNA content, and cell cycle kinetics. The first subpopulation was composed of small basal keratinocytes with low RNA content and a long generation time. The second subpopulation consisted of larger keratinocytes, having higher RNA content and a significantly shorter generation time. Finally, the third subpopulation contained the largest cells, which did not divide, and represent the more terminally differentiated keratinocytes. This in vitro approach provides discriminating cytochemical parameters by which the maturity of the epidermal cell sheets can be assessed prior to grafting onto human burn patients.
At present, mucosal proctectomy with ileo-anal anastomosis is a difficult, time-consuming operation involving much blood loss, often associated with impaired postoperative continence. A new operation has been devised in our department in which a surgical ultrasonic aspiratory, the CUSATM System (Cavitron Corporation) was used to fragment directly and strip bloodlessly mucosa from the rectal wall in 20 dogs as part of a simple ileo-anal sleeve anastomosis. All dogs were closely followed for up to 10 months. The only operative mortality occurred in the first dog where the upper rectum sloughed because the superior haemorrhoidal artery was divided. Preoperative weight was regained within the first 2 months. Initially stools were loose and frequent. Within 2 weeks the daily stool count was 5-6 with gradual thickening to semisolid consistency by 6 weeks. Finally 3-4 normal stools were passed daily. Postoperatively, all dogs remained contingent.
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