Medical management of paediatric burn injuries: best practice part 2.

Burns remain a leading cause of injury in the paediatric population in Australia despite efforts in prevention. Advances in surgical management include novel debridement methods and blood conserving techniques. Patients with severe burns (>20%) remain significantly more complex to manage as a result of extensive alterations in metabolic processes. There appears increasing evidence to support the use of pharmacological modulators of the hyper-metabolic state in these patients. The management of a child with burns involves acute, subacute and long-term planning. This holistic approach seems optimally co-ordinated by a Burns Unit in which each discipline required to provide care to these children in order to achieve optimal outcomes is represented.