Koen Maertens

Psychological consequences of pediatric burns from a child and family perspective: a review of the empirical literature.

In order to inform clinical practice, we reviewed the empirical literature on emotional, behavioral and social outcomes in children with burns and their families published between 1989 and 2011. A systematic search of the literature yielded 75 articles. Qualitative synthesis of the results showed that child anxiety, traumatic stress reactions, and behavioral problems were considerably prevalent in the first months after the burn event. Among parents, high rates of posttraumatic stress, depressive symptoms, and guilt feelings were found. Cross-sectional studies, often performed many years after the injury, suggest that some children experience long-term psychological problems, such as anxiety, depression, and difficulties with social functioning. However, there was little evidence that behavior in general, self-esteem, or body image were impaired in the total population of children with a history of burns. Long-term family outcome studies suggest that psychological problems persist in a substantial subgroup of parents. Child peritraumatic factors anxiety and pain, parental posttrauma psychological reactions, and family functioning were the most consistently reported factors associated with child outcome. More recent studies have demonstrated that burn severity may have an indirect effect on child postburn psychosocial outcome. Clinical implications, methodological strengths and limitations of the reviewed studies, and directions for future research are discussed.

The Scarbase Duo®: Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and validity of a compact dual scar assessment tool

Objective scar assessment tools were designed to help identify problematic scars and direct clinical management. Their use has been restricted by their measurement of a single scar property and the bulky size of equipment. The Scarbase Duo(®) was designed to assess both trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and colour of a burn scar whilst being compact and easy to use. Twenty patients with a burn scar were recruited and measurements taken using the Scarbase Duo(®) by two observers. The Scarbase Duo(®) measures TEWL via an open-chamber system and undertakes colorimetry via narrow-band spectrophotometry, producing values for relative erythema and melanin pigmentation. Validity was assessed by comparing the Scarbase Duo(®) against the Dermalab(®) and the Minolta Chromameter(®) respectively for TEWL and colorimetry measurements. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess reliability with standard error of measurement (SEM) used to assess reproducibility of measurements. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to assess the convergent validity. The Scarbase Duo(®) TEWL mode had excellent reliability when used on scars for both intra- (ICC=0.95) and inter-rater (ICC=0.96) measurements with moderate SEM values. The erythema component of the colorimetry mode showed good reliability for use on scars for both intra-(ICC=0.81) and inter-rater (ICC=0.83) measurements with low SEM values. Pigmentation values showed excellent reliability on scar tissue for both intra- (ICC=0.97) and inter-rater (ICC=0.97) with moderate SEM values. The Scarbase Duo(®) TEWL function had excellent correlation with the Dermalab(®) (r=0.93) whilst the colorimetry erythema value had moderate correlation with the Minolta Chromameter (r=0.72). The Scarbase Duo(®) is a reliable and objective scar assessment tool, which is specifically designed for burn scars. However, for clinical use, standardised measurement conditions are recommended.

Influence on clinical parameters of depressomassage (part I): The effects of depressomassage on color and transepidermal water loss rate in burn scars: A pilot comparative controlled study

OBJECTIVE Depressomassage is a non-invasive massage technique using a mechanical suction device that is used in the treatment of traumatic or burn scars. Since color and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) are respectively the most important physical and physiological characteristic of hypertrophic scar formation, we wanted to investigate the effects of depressomassage on the recovery of color and TEWL in burn scars compared to the traditional physiotherapy. METHODS In this pilot comparative controlled study a total 43 burn patients were included and allocated into 2 groups. All patients received standard physical therapy, and the test group received additional depressomassage during 6 months. Color was assessed using the POSAS questionnaire (for color, vascularity and pigmentation) and the Minolta Chromameter. TEWL was measured using DermaLab. RESULTS Patients of both groups were evaluated at baseline, after 1, 3 and 6 months and after 1year. The evidence for a difference in evolution of color and TEWL between both groups in our study was minimal. CONCLUSIONS In practice, precise indications to begin depressomassage have to be kept in mind. Perhaps other scar abnormalities such as decreased elasticity, increased thickness, excessive pain or itching could be sufficient reasons to begin depressomassage and should be assessed.

The physical and physiological effects of vacuum massage on the different skin layers: a current status of the literature

Vacuum massage is a non-invasive mechanical massage technique performed with a mechanical device that lifts the skin by means of suction, creates a skin fold and mobilises that skin fold. In the late 1970s, this therapy was introduced to treat traumatic or burn scars.Although vacuum massage was invented to treat burns and scars, one can find very little literature on the effects of this intervention. Therefore, the aim of this review is to present an overview of the available literature on the physical and physiological effects of vacuum massage on epidermal and dermal skin structures in order to find the underlying working mechanisms that could benefit the healing of burns and scars. The discussion contains translational analysis of the results and provides recommendations for future research on the topic.An extended search for publications was performed using PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Two authors independently identified and checked each study against the inclusion criteria.Nineteen articles were included in the qualitative synthesis. The two most reported physical effects of vacuum massage were improvement of the tissue hardness and the elasticity of the skin. Besides physical effects, a variety of physiological effects are reported in literature, for example, an increased number of fibroblasts and collagen fibres accompanied by an alteration of fibroblast phenotype and collagen orientation. Little information was found on the decrease of pain and itch due to vacuum massage.Although vacuum massage initially had been developed for the treatment of burn scars, this literature review found little evidence for the efficacy of this treatment. Variations in duration, amplitude or frequency of the treatment have a substantial influence on collagen restructuring and reorientation, thus implying possible beneficial influences on the healing potential by mechanotransduction pathways. Vacuum massage may release the mechanical tension associated with scar retraction and thus induce apoptosis of myofibroblasts. Suggestions for future research include upscaling the study design, investigating the molecular pathways and dose dependency, comparing effects in different stages of repair, including evolutive parameters and the use of more objective assessment tools.