Objective: Burns continue to be a devastating trauma worldwide. Most of the childhood burns are due to preventable injuries. Burns occurring as a result of negligence of the parents'/carers' may cause mortality or life-long morbidities. Identification of the etiologies will direct the precautions that should be undertaken. Material and Methods:One hundred consequent burn patients admitted to our clinics were included to the study. A questionnaire was filled in with the information gathered from the parents/carers. Results:The mean age of the patients was 3.74±3.07 years, and 52% was male. Most of the injuries occurred in the noon (median 12:45). Seventy-eight percent of the burns occurred at children's own home. Parents/carers were close enough to prevent the child from injury in 66% of the cases. While there was no first intervention in 21% of burns, 14% applied ice and 1% yoghurt. Taxi was the means to reaching the hospital in 45%. Hot liquids were the leading etiology (p<0.003). Sixty-two percent of the patients were dining at the living room and on the floor. Conclusion:The occurrence of the majority of injuries near parents/carers can be related to inadvertence or lack of awareness. To decrease burns incidence among children in our country, dining at the floor and stove heating should be avoided as much as possible. Not cooling the burn with running tap water at the time of injury leads to deepening of the burn, which consequently makes management more complex. Based on our study, there is an apparent need for determination of preventive measurements and to raise public awareness. Keywords: Burn, child, awareness, etiology INTRODUCTIONBurn is a trauma with high mortality rates and serious morbidity in children as much as in adults. In burn injuries, as in other diseases, age has a significant effect on both the etiology and treatment.The first and most important issue in burn injuries is to prevent the burn. Protecting children from burns can be considered as the most important duty of parents and carers when the children are at an age when they have not completed their mental and physical development. Incidents of burns in children are associated with (a) the child's not having completed her/his development, (b) lack of care and concentration of the parents, and (c) curiosity of the child to burn agents. In Turkey, burns are often related to accidents during the traditional tea brewing technique and to production of dairy products in rural areas (1, 2).In addition, 10% of child abuse is associated with burns (3-5). Therefore, it is necessary to approach burns in children carefully. For example, diapers protect the buttocks, hips and upper thighs of infants, so burns in those areas are rarely seen (6). When children present with burns in those areas, abuse in the form of placing the child in hot water as punishment must be kept in mind. In addition, the epidemiology and etiology of pediatric burns may vary according to regional, cultural and economic conditions. For example, in eastern Turkey, burns from ta...

The aim of our study was to identify if there was a relation between red cell distribution width, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, leukocyte count and thrombocyte count at the time of presentation to hospital and acute appendicitis. BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical emergencies. Misinterpretation of symptoms and fi ndings in acute appendicitis may lead to removal of normal appendix and delayed diagnosis can result in perforation and peritonitis. Many studies tried to delineate the relation between acute appendicitis and laboratory fi ndings. Latest studies focused on components of complete blood count such as red cell distribution width and mean platelet volume. METHODS: This was a retrospective clinical study that enrolled 638 patients with abdominal pain and open appendectomy for acute appendicitis. Complete blood count results including red cell distribution width were retrieved from medical charts of patients and analyzed. RESULTS: There was no statistically signifi cant difference between appendicitis, non pathological appendix and perforated appendicitis in terms of red cell distribution width or other blood count components except leukocyte level. CONCLUSION: Despite current fi ndings in medical literature indicating predictive value of red cell distribution width in acute appendicitis; its utility for differential diagnosis might be overestimated (Tab. 1, Ref. 22).

Postoperative care units are run by an anesthesiologist or a surgeon, or a team formed of both. Management of postoperative fluid therapy should be done considering both patients' status and intraoperative events. Types of the fluids, amount of the fluid given and timing of the administration are the main topics that determine the fluid management strategy. The main goal of fluid resuscitation is to provide adequate tissue perfusion without harming the patient. The endothelial glycocalyx dysfunction and fluid shift to extracellular compartment should be considered wisely. Fluid management must be done based on patient's body fluid status. Patients who are responsive to fluids can benefit from fluid resuscitation, whereas patients who are not fluid responsive are more likely to suffer complications of over-hydration. Therefore, common use of central venous pressure measurement, which is proved to be inefficient to predict fluid responsiveness, should be avoided. Goal directed strategy is the most rational approach to assess the patient and maintain optimum fluid balance. However, accessible and applicable monitoring tools for determining patient's actual fluid need should be further studied and universalized. The debate around colloids and crystalloids should also be considered with goal directed therapies. Advantages and disadvantages of each solution must be evaluated with the patient's specific condition.

The results of the present study suggest that use of the eyedrop-shaped modified Limberg flap is associated with a lower maceration and recurrence rate when compared with the available data on the use of the Limberg flap. Flap necrosis and wound healing was better, and the routine use of drains did not affect the wound-related complications and recurrence rates.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a supplementary nutritional product containing arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) on the nutritional parameters of patients with major burns. Methods:In a total of 40 patients with major burns treated in the Burns Unit, standard nutritional support was administered to 20 patients, and the study product was added to the standard nutritional support of the remaining 20 patients. The biochemical laboratory test results and burn severity were recorded on the first day of treatment and on Days 14 and 28. The 40 patients were divided as the study and the control group, and their results were compared.Results: An increase in the albumin, prealbumin and total protein values in the group administered with the study product was found to be statistically significant compared to the control group (p=0.021, p=0.02, p<0.001, respectively). The decreases in haemoglobin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were at the levels expected in burn trauma. Conclusion:The results obtained in this study demonstrated that the addition of arginine, glutamine and HMB to the nutrition of patients with burns had a positive effect on the protein balance.