The Influence of Environmental Factors on Evaporation and Heat Loss from Burned Tissue

Abstract

Destruction of skin by severe burning leads to substantial loss of fluid. Increased evaporative heat loss in addition to energy demands for tissue repair causes hypermetabolism in a severely burned patient, placing a large stress on the body. The dependence of evaporation rate and energy supply on environmental variables has been studied using a phantom in which a free water surface simulated burned tissue. Vapour diffusion resistances have been derived from the experiments, and compared with values calculated from data obtained from other studies of burned tissue. These can be used to predict rates of evaporation and heat loss for burned tissue, and their dependence on different environmental factors. Experiments have shown that energy in the form of radiant heat or warm air blown over the water surface can be supplied to reduce heat losses without significantly affecting evaporation rate.