Alimentation and decompression are imperative to the successful management of the severely burned patient. Utilization of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes for these purposes has become a proven effective procedure in non-burned patients with few major complications. We retrospectively reviewed placement of PEG tubes in 31 burn patients, some of whom had been admitted with additional diagnoses such as inhalation injury and/or dysphagia. In 90% of our burn patients, the use of PEG tubes was without complication. The placement of PEG tubes through burn wound areas or donor sites added no increase in wound complications. In summary, there was no mortality referable to the use of PEG tubes, there were no major operative or wound complications, and feedings were tolerated well. This study reports on the use of PEG tubes in a regional Burn Treatment Center. It shows that PEG tubes offer safe and effective alimentation and decompression in the management of burned patients.
Two cases of limited infrarenal abdominal aortic dissection are reported. One patient was treated successfully with medical therapy alone, which resulted in complete resolu tion of symptoms and obliteration of the dissection. The second patient continued to have pain and eventually required aortic graft replacement. Abdominal aortic dissection may be an entity different from thoracic aortic dissection.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.