A burn center, burn unit, or burns unit is a hospital specializing in the treatment of

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

s. Burn centers are often used for the treatment and recovery of patients with more severe burns.

Overview

The severity of a burn, and therefore whether a referral will be made after the patient is treated and stabilized, differs depending upon many factors, among them: the age of the victim (burns to infants and toddlers or to those over age 65 are generally more serious, particularly if the face, head, respiratory system, chest, abdomen, groin, or extremities are burned; those who are not in these age groups can be more affected if they are or were already ill, injured, or immunocompromised), the total

body surface area In physiology and medicine, the body surface area (BSA) is the measured or calculated surface area of a human body. For many clinical purposes, BSA is a better indicator of metabolic mass than body weight because it is less affected by abnormal a ...

that is burned (the rule of nines), if proper treatment and referrals are delayed or the wrong treatments are given, if the burns are of the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th degree (the bigger and deeper, the worse it is), the source (if it was due to a chemical, or from a scald, or fire, or radiation, the treatment regimen has to be modified appropriately), or if skin grafting is not feasible and/or important organs are harmed.

Burn team

A burn center needs a team approach for the management of critically burnt patients. Usually, the burns management team consists of a plastic surgeon, intensivist, chest physician, general surgeon,

Anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medic ...

, Respiratory Therapist, pediatrician, nurses and technicians,

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their ...

, nutritionist,

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, pat ...

, and social worker. Early burn wound excision and immediate wound cover can improve the chances of survival in major burn cases.

Lists of burn centers

* List of burn centres in Australia * List of burn centres in Canada *

List of burn centres in Bahrain This is a list of burn centres in Bahrain. A burn centre or burn care facility is typically a hospital ward which specializes in the treatment of severe burn injuries. In 1980, the need for a dedicated burns unit in Bahrain was highlighted i ...

List of burn centres in the United Kingdom This is a list of burn centres in the United Kingdom. A burn centre or burn care facility is typically a hospital ward which specializes in the treatment of severe burn injuries. In British Overseas Territories, patients requiring specialist ca ...

* List of burn centers in the United States

References

Hospital departments Burns {{hospital-stub