Background and Objective

The number of minimally invasive procedures performed outside of the operating room has grown exponentially over the last several decades. Sedation, analgesia, or both may be needed for many of these interventional or diagnostic procedures. However, to our knowledge, there is no experience on the use of procedural sedation analgesia (PSA) in patients with facial burns who need enzymatic debridement.

The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness and safety of PSA for pain relief in patients with facial burns undergoing enzymatic debridement.

Methods

We describe 16 cases of adult patients with burns on the face and neck who needed enzymatic debridement. Four patients without mechanical ventilation were treated with PSA. The procedure was well tolerated and the patients did not suffer complications

Results

PSA usually requires combinations of multiple agents to reach desired effects of analgesia plus anxiolysis. The procedure was well tolerated and the patients did not suffer complications.

Conclusions

PSA can be an option for enzymatic debridement of facial burns in adults patients without mechanical ventilation.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )