Response of a single European burn center to Centelles mass casualty burn disaster: enzymatic debridement utility.

Abstract

Introduction: Mass burn casualty disasters present with a big challenge due to the complex multidisciplinary management of severely burned patients and the limited capacity of the specialized centers. Literature is scarce, and so is the management of these disasters with enzymatic debridement (ED).

Methods: Retrospective observational analysis of nine patients admitted to the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital Burn Center (Barcelona, Spain), as a consequence of a bell tower explosion on December 30, 2019. The patients with intermediate-deep second-degree burns, either in circumferential or affecting highly functional areas as hands, feet or face, were included in the ED group. Continuous variables are expressed as mode and standard deviation and quantitative ones as percentages.

Results: Fourteen people were injured after the explosion of gunpowder-containing bags in a bell tower during a cultural celebration. Nine casualties (6 men and 3 women) suffered burn injuries that required assessment and admission in our Burn Center. The mean age was 44.33 years (range 19-61 years), with burns covering a mean total body surface area (TBSA) of 15% (range 5-48% TBSA). One patient required invasive mechanical ventilation and intensive care management. Seven patients required ED, with an average debrided TBSA of 6.1% (range 3-10% TBSA). Seven out of 9 patients required at least one surgery. The average hospital stay was 23.33 days (range 2-53 days). No escharotomy was required and no patient died.

Conclusions: This experience brought out the weak and strong features of our center when facing a situation that implies an important care stress. It can be useful for other Burn Centers in similar situations in the future. We found that new tools, such as ED, can be advantageous in such situations.