Critical care management of inhalational injury and severe burns

Inhalational injury and severe burns are common. Most will present to district general hospitals and thus an understanding of how to assess and manage these patients is vital for all practising anaesthetists with on-call commitments. In this article we emphasize the requirement for a highly functioning multidisciplinary approach with excellent communication both within and between treating teams. We will challenge the dogmatic approach to airway management and discuss the increasing problem of fluid creep. The key areas of burns assessment, sedation/analgesia and nutrition management in these patients is also discussed.