Life threatening deep scald burns in a neonate: A rare case report

Accidental scalding burn injury in a 2-day-old neonate

Neonatal burns are a rare and challenging issue that is often overlooked during caregiver counselling. While iatrogenic burns account for the majority of reported cases, domestic burns are more prevalent in developing countries. Here, we report a case of a neonate with accidental scald burns due to spillage of a hot beverage on the body by the mother. Prevention is essential, and counselling and raising awareness about the cautious handling of hot beverages are of paramount importance in reducing the occurrence of accidental scald burns.To improve community acceptance of safe practices, it is crucial to include senior family members and ASHA workers in counselling sessions. Regular supervision, effective hospital policies, and training of caregivers and healthcare professionals are the key measures to be implemented to prevent accidental burns.

Staphylococcal Infections and Neonatal Skin: Data from Literature and Suggestions for the Clinical Management from Four Challenging Patients

Staphylococcal infections in neonates might be associated with skin blistering since early antibiotic therapy has been shown to limit infection spread and positively influence outcomes; therefore, neonatologists should be aware of these conditions. This review examines the recent literature on the management of Staphylococcal infections that involve neonatal skin, discussing the most appropriate clinical approach to four cases of neonatal blistering diseases with Staphylococcal infections: a case of Staphylococcal bullous impetigo, a case of Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS), a case of epidermolysis bullosa with overlapping Staphylococcal infection, and a case of burns with overlapping Staphylococcal infection. In treating Staphylococcal infections involving skin in neonates, the presence or absence of systemic symptoms should be considered. In the lack of evidence-based guidelines in this age category, treatment should be individualized according to several factors including the extension of the disease or further skin comorbidities (such as skin fragility), with a multidisciplinary approach.

Neonatal Burn Injuries Managed in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a Tertiary Hospital in North-Central Nigeria

Introduction

Neonatal burn injuries are rare in clinical practice. This explains the many case reports of such injuries. This is a report of our experience in the management of neonatal burn injuries in our centre.

Materials and Methods

This is a retrospective study of neonatal burn injuries that were managed over an eight year period (2014-2022). The information that was retrieved from the case notes included the socio-demographic data, birth weight, weight at admission, type of injury, total burn surface area (TBSA), depth of burn injury, type of treatment, length of hospital stay and outcome of care. The data were then entered into the SPSS version 25 (IBM Corp., United States) software and analysed.

Results

We managed 11 neonates, five males and six females with a male: female (M: F) ratio of 1:1.2. Their age ranged from zero to 25 days with a median (IQR) of 2 (1 -15) days. Eight (72.7%) of them were one to two days old and eight (72.7%) were admitted as out born. Majority (81.8%) of the mothers were primiparous women. Nine (81.8%) of the injuries were as a result of hot water bath. Most (66.6%) of these baths were done by the grandmothers or mothers of the babies. The total burn surface area (TBSA) ranged from 1% to 62%, with a median (IQR) of 11 (7.5 - 19.0). None of the babies had skin grafting. The length of stay (LOS) ranged from six days to 25 days with a median (IQR) of 11.0 (7.0 - 16.0) days. Only one baby died giving a hospital mortality rate of 9.1%.

Conclusions

The commonest cause of neonatal burn injury in this series is scald injuries from hot water bath. Providing education about safe bathing to caregivers should be included in routine antenatal and postnatal instructions in order to prevent burns.

Exposure of Skin Homografts from Related Living Donors to Radiotherapy and Its Effects on Acute Rejection and Wound Healing in Children with Deep Burns: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background  The ideal skin substitute should be more similar to normal skin function while causing fewer reactions. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of radiotherapy on minimizing acute rejection and enhancing wound healing in children with deep burns.

Patients and Methods  A prospective randomized control study included 34 children admitted to the burn unit with deep burns under the age of 12 years. Through the tomotherapy device, a skin homograft from a related living donor was exposed to a local dose of radiotherapy of 500 centigray (cGy). It was immediately used for coverage of the prepared bed after the irradiation was completed.

Results  The mean values of the laboratory parameters (ESR, CRP, IL-6, and TNF) for all burn patients in the study showed a significant difference, with p  < 0.001. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the time from homograft coverage to the appearance of rejection was 9.62 ± 1.45 in group 1 and 14.35 ± 2.8 in group 2, with p  < 0.001 (highly significant difference), indicating that exposure to radiotherapy can reduce graft rejection.

Conclusions  The exposure of skin homografts from related living donors to a local low dose of radiotherapy can reduce a graft's ability to initiate inflammatory and immunological reactions, thereby minimizing rejection of a graft and enhancing epithelialization in children with deep second- and third-degree burns.

Thermal burn in a 30-minute-old newborn: report on the youngest patient with iatrogenic burn injury

Burns in infants are rare. The majority of neonatal burns occur in the hospital setting. The immaturity of their immune system, their fragile and thin skin, difficulties in resuscitation, engraftment paucity limited by donor sites, and long-term complications make taking care of burned newborns extremely difficult. We present the case of a newborn burned 30 minutes after his birth over a total body surface of 35%, when the hot water bottle used in the hospital accidentally burst. This is the earliest iatrogenic burn in a newborn reported to date. The newborn was discharged home after 30 days in hospital for resuscitation, dressings and skin grafting. He is now under regular observation.