Special considerations in hazardous materials burns.
Those practicing Emergency Medicine are frequently faced with a patient presenting with a chemical burn. Most dermal chemical burns are minor and do not require specialized treatment. Occasionally, however, the clinician may be in the position of responding to a chemical burn in which standard therapy of irrigation and good wound care may not be sufficient or, at worst, contraindicated. Several burn conditions will be reviewed, some of those requiring only specific decontamination techniques, as in hot tar, others posing special hazards to clinicians, as in elemental metals, and finally, examples are given of hazardous materials requiring attention to systemic effects, as in hydrofluoric acid.
Robinett
D Adam
DA
Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Shelton
Benjamin
B
Dyer
K Sophia
KS
D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000628:therapy; D002057:Burns, Chemical / Q000628:therapy*; D002840:Chromates / Q000009:adverse effects; D003666:Decontamination; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005107:Explosions; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D006858:Hydrofluoric Acid / Q000009:adverse effects; D013638:Tars / Q000009:adverse effects
D002840:Chromates; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D013638:Tars; D006858:Hydrofluoric Acid; C034944:chromic acid