Burn injury...beyond the skin

1. 
   
   The burn injuries affects multiple anatomical area with major physiologic consequences....
   Below is the summary of the anatomical and physiological insults ....
   
   1-Supraglottal
   Loss of airway patency due to mucosal oedema
   Loss of airway reflexes due to coma (e.g. blast Traumatic brain injury, intoxications such as carbon monoxide,)
   
2. Tracheobronchial
   Bronchospasm resulting from inhaled irritants
   Mucosal oedema and endobronchial sloughing causing small airway occlusion, leading to intrapulmonary shunting.
   
3. Pulmonary Parenchymal
   Pulmonary (alveolar) oedema and collapse leading to decreased compliance, and further intrapulmonary shunting.
   Loss of tracheobronchial epithelium and airway ciliary clearance contributing to tracheobronchitis and pneumonia.
   Barotrauma, ARDS, pleural effusions, Ventilator associated pneumonia, TRALI and tracheobronchitis may all result from Intensive Care resuscitation, and treatments of the above.
   
4. Mechanical
   Circumferential full thickness burns of the chest and abdomen may cause reduced static compliance resulting in restrictive ventilator defect, made worse by large volumes of oedema with fluid resuscitation and capillary leak.
   
5. Other
   Toxic inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO) resulting in a left shift of the ODC and oxygen transport capacity (Carboxy Hb) and decreased cellular oxidative processes.
   Other toxic gases NH3, HCL – pulmonary oedema,mucosal irritation and ALI
   CN- poisoning, cellular hypoxia
   Increased metabolic requirements may overwhelm a respiratory system already impaired by all the above.