Pain in the patient with burns

and disfiguring forms of trauma, as it affects the skin, the largest andmost visible organ. The National Burn Care Review (British Burn Association, 2001) determined that as many as 500,000 people suffer a burn injury each year in the UK. Most are minor. Around 13,000 people, of which 45% are children, are admitted to hospital; only a small proportion have severe injuries requiring resuscitation. Burns anaesthesia and, when required, intensive care can form a significant part of the anaesthetic workload in the hospital with a burn centre. An appreciation of analgesia management related to the pathophysiology of the burn is also important, and the role of the anaesthetist in supporting analgesia for burn patients is crucial. The generalist anaesthetist cannot escape entirely, as patients with burns present initially at local hospitals; the early management of pain can have a significant impact on the pain experience thereafter. Mechanisms and characteristics of burn pain