E. Van den Kerckhove

One world one burn rehabilitation standard

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) burns are a huge global health problem resulting in death and devastation to those who survive large burns as they are faced with significant functional limitations that prevent purposeful and productive living. Members of the International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI) Rehabilitation Committee conducted a needs assessment survey in order to characterize how burn rehabilitation is implemented worldwide and how the international burn rehabilitation community can help improve burn rehabilitation in identified geographic locations which need assistance in rehabilitating burn survivors successfully. The results of this survey indicated that poor and in some cases resource limited environments (RLEs) around the world seem to lack the financial, educational and material resources to conduct burn rehabilitation successfully. It appears that there are vast discrepancies in the areas of education, training and capacity to conduct research to improve the care of burn survivors as evidenced by the variation in responses between the RLEs and developed countries around the globe. In some cases, the problem is not knowledge, skill and ability to practice burn rehabilitation, but rather having the resources to do so due to financial difficulties.

Reliability of Repeated Measurements on Post-Burn Scars with Corneometer CM 825®

The water content in burn scars, the parameter of stratum corneum water holding capacity, is an important feature in evaluation of biophysical properties of scars. Nevertheless, quantifiying this parameter is a challenge. In this study, the reliability of repeated water content measurements with Corneometer CM825® on (burn) scars was investigated.

A simplified three-dimensional volume measurement technique in keloid scars: Validity and reliability

INTRODUCTION Effective treatment of keloid scars is important because patients are often confronted with major cosmetic, psychological, and social consequences. Three-dimensional (3D) imaging has been reported for the evaluation of keloid treatment. These techniques were complex to use in clinical practice. In this study, the validity and reliability of a simplified 3D volume measurement technique are defined. METHODS Thirty-three scars were simulated using deformable modeling compound. The volume of the compound is calculated using the weight and density of the modeling compound, and it is compared with the 3D volume measurement. RESULTS The mean simulated keloid volume was 2.884 cc. The correlation was very high (r = 0.999), but there was a significant mean difference of 0.252 cc (p < 0.001). This was corrected using a formula, actual volume = 1.072 × measured volume. This formula was validated using a new data set of 33 simulated scars. There was a nonsignificant mean difference of 0.010 cc (p = 0.731). CONCLUSION This 3D measurement technique combined with the correcting formula is valid and reliable to be used in practice for the evaluation of keloid scar treatment.

Three-dimensional imaging for volume measurement of hypertrophic and keloid scars, reliability of a previously validated simplified technique in clinical setting.

Evidence behind many of the current treatments in hypertrophic and keloid scars remains limited. Current objective methods to assess efficacy and provide follow‐up can be complex and are not easily applied in clinical setting. The aim of this study was to assess reliability of a recently validated simplified technique for volume measurement in clinical practice.