Burns And Fluid Replacement

When a person is burned and depending on the severity of burn, the blood vessels including the capillaries may be affected. Combined with the release of chemical substances into the blood, this will lead to increased capillary permeability to fluids, leading to the leaking of fluids from the blood vessels into the tissues. The higher the percentage of burned skin, the more severe the loss of fluid will be and the greater the dehydration will be.

Fluid replacement is one of the important objectives in the initial treatment of burned patients. The amount of fluid needed and the method of fluid given depends on the surface area of the skin burned as well as other factors. There are many formulas used for fluid resuscitation; one of them is called the Parklund Formula in which after the amount of fluids is calculated, it is given through an IV route and the type of fluid is usually Ringer Lactate. Urine output (0.5 ml/kg/hour in adult and 1 ml/kg/hour in children) is one of the methods used to evaluate adequate fluid resuscitation.

Fluid is replaced to prevent hypovolemic shock and other associated complications such as kidney failure.

Continue reading →