Experience in the management and treatment of degloving injuries at the National Burn Center Montevideo-Uruguay

Abstract

Introduction: Degloving injuries or extensive soft tissue avulsions, represent a challenge for the medical team. Proper management of these patients is essential given the high morbidity.

Objetives: Study of soft tissue degloving injuries treated at the National Burn Center, their management and treatment in the last 18 years. Analyze the current situation of these injuries in order to provide tools for development of prevention and treatment strategies.

Materials and methods: Retrospective study from January 2004 to January 2022, database analysis of the National Burn Center of “Hospital de Clínicas” (Montevideo-Uruguay), including all admissions for extensive soft tissue degloving. Results: The population consisted of 38 patients, mostly with injuries due to traffic accidents (92.1%) of which 57.9% were pedestrians. A complication rate of 55.3% and a mortality of 15.8% were found. An association arised between infectious complications and mortality and between a positivve culture on admission and a delay in time to enter to the National Burn Center. Conclusions: Lower limb severe injuries have presented a high rate of mortality and infectious complicactions. These complications were associated with a longer hospital stay. Infectous complications, in turn, were associated with mortality, as well as the extent of lesions.