The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Burns unit at MCH yet to materialise

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Friday, Jul 29, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Burns unit at MCH yet to materialise

C. Maya

Modern burns management can reduce mortality

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The absence of a separate ward and comprehensive treatment plans for the management of burns victims at Medical College hospital has been pushing up the mortality and morbidity rates in burns cases.

At least one new burns case is admitted to the MCH every two or three days, almost all of the victims being young women. There has been a steady inflow of burns cases, which the hospital has found difficult to manage. However, a Burns unit has not been set up, despite a proposal for it being sanctioned as early as 1996.

The place that is currently earmarked for accommodating burns patients - by the side of ward number eight - is hardly the ideal one, as this is the post-operative ward of the General Surgery unit, according to a senior doctor attached to the unit. Accommodating burns patients along with others increases the risks of hospital infections. Infections are one of the leading causes of death of burns victims.

The proposal had been for a Burns unit with separate theatre and isolation wards. The post of an Associate Professor, Assistant Professor and two lecturers had also been created. The patients are at present treated by the General Surgery department as they would be suffering from acute loss of body fluids and then referred to the Plastic Surgery department.

The overcrowded wards in MCH, which are acutely short of nursing services, is not helping the survival of burns patients in any way. The survival chances of a patient are determined by the percentage of burns on his/her body. "In most cases, the victim would have about 60 to 70 per cent burns. The outcome is very poor despite any efforts that are put in," the doctor said.

However, proper care and modern burns management can bring down the mortality and morbidity of burns victims, it is pointed out. The hospital is not giving any attention to the quality of life of those who survive.

Timely treatment is the key in managing burn injuries. Even the lucky few who survive, come back with complications because surgeries could not be done on them at the proper time.

The majority of the victims are neglected women from very poor families, who cannot afford the treatment expenses even if they survive. The burns unit has not materialised at MCH precisely because it requires substantial investment while all treatment would have to be given free of cost, a section of doctors allege.

Plastic surgeons point out that modern burns management plans involve skin grafting within the first 48 hours, which can check tissue and fluid loss and also reduce infection.

"Many centres now achieve almost 70 per cent burns survival through proper care and management. However, this requires a comprehensive set-up, including an exclusive theatre," an MCH official said.

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