Clinical signs of thermal skin burns in the acute phase in black-skinned patients. Results of a prospective study of 214 burn victims

• Published in: Annales de chirurgie plastique et esthétique 2024-12
• Main Author: Kibadi, K
• Format: Article
• Language: fre
• ISSN: 1768-319X; 1768-319X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anplas.2024.10.005

In the literature, we do not find any published study on the clinical signs of thermal skin burns in the acute phase in black-skinned patients. The present study, which fills this gap, reports for the very first time the results of clinical observations in 214 black-skinned burn victims. This was a prospective study that collected the clinical signs of burns in the acute phase. This study included all burn patients with black skin who consulted in the acute phase without initial local treatment and whose burn was less than 4hours old. It covered a period of 13 years, from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2023. Males (54.6%) and children aged 5 years and under were the most affected (46.3%). Boiling liquids were the most common causative agent (67.4%). Burns of 20% or more of the body surface area represented the largest proportion (39.1%) followed by those between 10 and 19% (35.5%). All 214 patients included in the study had at least one first-degree burn and there were several associated degrees. Second-degree burns, as a whole, were also among the most encountered, i.e. 89.1% of cases. In our burn patients with black skin, we observed some clinical differences in the assessment of burn depth with the description reported in the literature. The erythema described in first-degree burns on "white" skin was reflected in the burned patient with black skin by a dark, darker or grayish appearance of the skin; and the dermis for second- and third-degree burns appeared whiter in patients with black skin compared to patients with "white skin". The semiology of thermal skin burns in the acute phase should be revisited and adapted to the patient's skin color.