Neurologic and Musculoskeletal Complications of Burn Injuries

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Neurologic injuries

Clinically, neurologic complications are often underreported in the literature because the diagnosis is commonly delayed or missed entirely. The neurologic assessment is marred by the complexity of medical problems and impaired consciousness of patients who are critically ill. However, neurologic injuries cause serious debility and functional deficits that impact recovery. Both prevention and identification of neuropathies is an important aspect of burn rehabilitation. The neurologic

Musculoskeletal complications

Musculoskeletal complications are common after burn injuries. Prevention and early identification and treatment are the goals of care in the acute, subacute, and outpatient settings. Contractures are a major musculoskeletal complication of burn injury and are covered in their own article elsewhere in this issue. The authors address bone metabolism, osteophytes, heterotopic ossification, scoliosis and kyphosis, septic arthritis, and subluxations and dislocations in detail later (Table 3).

Electrical injuries

Electrical burn injuries are an uncommon form of burn injury, accounting for 4% of burn-unit admissions in the United States.62 Most electrical burns result from contact with high-voltage equipment and are common at industrial worksites. The mortality rate ranges from 3% to 15%, with approximately 1000 deaths per year caused by electrical burn injuries.62 They are the fourth leading cause of traumatic work-related deaths.63 Similar to other burn injuries, electrical burns result in significant

Summary

As more people survive burn injuries, there is an increasing focus on managing the complications of burn injuries with the ultimate goal of improving survivors’ quality of life. Musculoskeletal and neurologic sequelae are significant complications of burn injury. Electrical injury is a subcategory of burns with multiple musculoskeletal and neurologic complications. Knowledge of these complications helps clinicians provide optimal long-term care for burn survivors and enables survivors to attain

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