The Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis-specific severity of illness score (SCORTEN) was developed to predict mortality in patients with Stevens Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN). Several studies have attempted to assess the accuracy of SCORTEN with mixed results. The objective of this study is to compare the predicted and actual mortality for patients with SJS/TEN admitted to a single high-volume burn center.This retrospective study included adult and pediatric patients admitted to our burn center with biopsy-confirmed SJS/TEN between February 2008 and February 2016. SCORTEN scores were calculated for each patient on days 1 and 3 of admission. The primary endpoint was predicted vs actual in-hospital mortality. Secondary endpoints included the association of SCORTEN, as well as individual components of SCORTEN, with hospital length of stay, length of stay in the intensive care unit, and in-hospital complications.Of 128 patients included, the mean age was 44.5 years, 40.6% (n = 52) were males, and 50.0% (n = 64) were Caucasians. The median TBSA was 12.25% on day 1 and 25% on day 3. The median SCORTEN at admission was 2 (interquartile range: 1-3.5). There were a total of 20 deaths (17.2%). SCORTEN exhibited good discrimination (c-statistic = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.75-0.91) and performed directionally as expected, but a low but nonsignificant standardized mortality ratio (75.3%, P = .164) and a Hosmer-Lemeshow test of borderline significance (P = .088) make the model's fit unclear.The accuracy of the SCORTEN model in predicting mortality for SJS/TEN patients treated in a burn center remains unclear. This study may encourage future multicenter studies to further clarify its predictive ability and may also enhance future investigation into the use of a reformulated or reweighted SCORTEN.

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A model was developed to assess the lifetime costs and outcomes associated with haemophilia in Mexico. A retrospective chart review of 182 type A haemophiliacs was conducted for patients aged 0-34 years receiving one of three treatments: (i) cryoprecipitate at clinic; (ii) concentrate at home; or (iii) concentrate at clinic. Patients treated at home experienced 30% less joint damage, used 13-54% less factor VIII, had four times fewer clinic visits, and utilized half as many hospital days than those treated at a clinic. For cryoprecipitate at clinic patients, the annual incidence rates of HCV and HIV were calculated to be 3.6% and 1.4% respectively. The life expectancy for patients receiving cryoprecipitate and those receiving concentrate was estimated to be 49 years and 69 years respectively, with 58% of cryoprecipitate patients predicted to die of AIDS before age 69. Across the lifespan, the average annual cost of care was US$11,677 (MN$110,464) for cryoprecipitate at clinic patients, US$10,104 (M$95,580) for concentrate at home patients and US$18,819 (MN$178,027) for concentrate at clinic patients. Using a 5% discount rate, the incremental lifetime cost per year of life added for treatment with concentrate at home compared with cryoprecipitate at a clinic was US$738 (MN$6981). Rank order stability analysis demonstrated that the model was most sensitive to the cost of fVIII. These results indicate that treatment with concentrate at home compared with cryoprecipitate at a clinic substantially improves clinical outcomes at reduced annual cost levels.

Frostbite can lead to severe consequences including loss of digits and limbs. One of the mechanisms of frostbite includes vascular thrombosis. The use of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in frostbite has been shown to be effective in case reports and small prospective studies. A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients admitted for frostbite between January 2008 and April 2015, and six patients were identified as having received treatment with intravenous tPA. Patients received an initial bolus dose followed by a 6-hour infusion of tPA. Five patients (83.3%) were treated with continuous infusion heparin following tPA administration. Three patients (50%) were discharged on aspirin 325 mg daily for 30 days and two patients (33.3%) were discharged on warfarin for 28 days. There were no serious complications noted with tPA. In this case series, there were 65 digits at risk for amputation in six patients. Only 16 digits (24.6%) were partially or completely amputated in three (50%) of the patients. After rapid rewarming, the use of tPA is safe and effective at reducing the number of digits amputated. Patients who had less of a response to tPA were those who had an unknown duration of cold exposure along with drug or alcohol intoxication at presentation. Utilizing a guideline with clear criteria will help facilitate determining appropriate patients to safely treat with tPA for frostbite injury.