A comparison of conservative versus early excision. Therapies in severely burned patients.

Early excision and grafting of small burn wounds is a generally accepted treatment. Early excision of burn injuries greater than 30% total body surface area (TBSA) in adults, however, has not been universally accepted. In this study, 85 patients whose ages ranged from 17 to 55 years with greater than 30% total body surface area (TBSA) burns were randomly assigned to either early excision or topical antimicrobial therapy and skin grafting after spontaneous eschar separation. Mortality from burns without inhalation injury was significantly decreased by early excision from 45% to 9% in patients who were 17 to 30 years of age (p less than 0.025). No differences in mortality could be demonstrated between therapies in adult patients older than 30 years of age or with a concomitant inhalation injury. Children (n = 259) with similar large burns treated by early excision showed a significant increase in mortality with increasing burn size and with concomitant inhalation injury (p less than 0.05). The mean length of hospital stay of survivors was less than one day per per cent of TBSA burn in both children and adults.     

Early burn excision and grafting

The current state of knowledge and experience with early burn wound closure leads to some conclusions that are proved and others that are suggested. The issues that are proved include the following: Small (less than 20 per cent TBSA) full-thickness burns and indeterminate (deep partial-thickness versus full-thickness) burns, if treated by an experienced surgeon, can be excised safely and grafted with a decrease in hospital stay, cost to the patient, and time away from work or school. Early excision and grafting dramatically decreases the number of painful ward debridements required by all patients. Patients with burns between 20 and 40 per cent TBSA appear to have fewer infectious wound complications and a shortened hospital stay if treated with early excision and grafting. In addition to the above conclusions, about which there is little disagreement, there are other suggestive data and clinical impressions that do not yet have "hard data" to support them. These issues include the following: Scarring is less in wounds closed early, leading to better appearance and the need for fewer reconstructive procedures. There presently is not a good measure of "cosmetic appearance," and comparative studies await an acceptable scale to measure results. Mortality from wound infection is less in patients with major burns. Because wounds exceeding the donor sites cannot be closed permanently and completely until donor sites can be reharvested, proof will come only when a durable permanent cover can be applied in a timely fashion. Data now suggest that mortality has decreased, but none of the studies has been conclusive. Mortality from other complications of major burns may decrease with early excision and grafting. Decreasing stress, hypermetabolism, and decreasing the overall bacterial load of such patients enables them to resist other complications better. The only present data supporting this conclusion, however, come from animal studies. The current state of the art suggests that small, deep burns can be excised and grafted by general or plastic surgeons in community hospitals as long as they are interested in the procedure and the hospital has the proper support facilities. Burns of cosmetically or functionally important areas (face, hands, feet, and joints) should be excised by someone with a special interest in burns, and burns in excess of 10 per cent TBSA should be excised only in facilities with excellent support facilities, including an experienced anesthesiologist, trained nursing personnel, good critical-care facilities, and a safe blood bank.     

Burn injury and management in Liberia

Burn care in developing countries remains a challenge. This paper reviews the acute burn care of 21 patients admitted during a 1-year period to a hospital in Liberia. Lack of supplies and education, coupled with the local belief system, reflect on patient management. The study population to falled 21 patients, ranging from 1 to 62 years of age. TBSA burns ranged from 2 to 60 per cent (mean 21 per cent), 61 per cent of patients were grafted. The time between burn and graft varied between 5 and 96 days (mean 29.8). Graft take varied between 40 and 100 per cent (mean 81 per cent). Of the grafted patients 66.6 per cent received blood (average 732 ml). At the time of presentation 61.9 per cent of patients had other illness. The average number of hospital days was 37.9 (range 2–76). The mortality rate was 14.2 per cent. When managing burns in a developing country, adaption of a simple, clearly defined method of treatment, together with education of the caregivers, is suggested. As in the developed world, however, prevention is the critical factor.     

Thermal injury in the elderly: when is comfort care the right choice?

The factors contributing to a higher mortality rate in elderly thermal injury victims are not well delineated. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of the initial injury, medical comorbidities, and burn size on patient outcome and to determine a level of injury in this population when comfort care is an appropriate first choice. Individual medical records of patients over 65 years of age admitted to our burn center over a 10-year interval were reviewed for patient demographics, mechanism of injury, total body surface area (TBSA) burned, medical comorbidities, use of Swan-Ganz catheters, evidence of inhalation injury, level of support, and patient outcome. The mechanisms of thermal injury were flame (68%), scald (21%) and electrical or chemical contact (11%). Twenty-six preventable bathing, cooking, and smoking-related injuries were seen (33%). The average TBSA was 25 per cent. Average length of stay varied depending on outcome. The overall mortality rate for this group was 45 per cent. Patients older than 80 years with 40 per cent or greater TBSA burned had a 100 per cent mortality rate despite aggressive treatment. Burn wound size correlated better with probability of poor outcome than age. Thermal injuries in the elderly are becoming more important with the aging of our population. Underlying medical problems--specifically chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--do play a role in increased patient morbidity and mortality. This study shows that age greater than 80 years in combination with burns greater than 40 per cent TBSA are uniformly fatal despite aggressive therapy. We believe that delaying the start of comfort-only measures in this situation only prolongs the pain and suffering for the patient, the family, and the physician.     

Does rapid wound closure improve survival in older patients with burns?

Seventy-five patients more than fifty years of age were admitted for treatment of burns from January 1, 1986, to December 31, 1987, to two community-hospital-based burn units. Patients were managed by a team of burn surgeons at each unit and early excision and grafting was used whenever possible in deep partial-thickness and full-thickness burns. The extent of burn was charted weekly during hospitalization and rate of wound healing was calculated using linear regression analysis. The mean total percent burn was 26.2 per cent (range, 4-85%). The overall mortality rate was 40 per cent. Mortality rate increased sharply by decade from 17.4 per cent for those aged 50-59 years to 100 per cent for the five patients age 90 and more. Excision and grafting were performed in 40 patients; 35 patients were not operated upon. Although hospitalization was somewhat longer in patients treated surgically, survival was better. Excision and grafting should be used when needed to achieve rapid wound closure in patients more than fifty years of age.     

Epidemiological study of 3341 burns patients during three years in Tehran, Iran

A retrospective study was conducted on 3341 burn patients hospitalized in a burn care center in Tehran, Iran during 1995-98. The mean age was 20.4 years, and 43.5% of patients were children under 15 years old. The mean body surface area burned was 30.6%. There were statistically significant correlations between age groups and total burn surface area (TBSA) burned with mortality rate (p<0.006). Flame was the most common etiology of burns. There was also significant correlation between age groups and causes of burns (p<0.0001). The mean hospital stay was 16.7 days. The overall mortality rate was 19.6. Most of the injuries requiring hospital admission occurred during the winter months. Parents can play an important role in prevention of burns in children who are most susceptible to burns. People with causes identified could be educated in burn prevention, through news and other media.     

Early excision of major burns in children: effect on morbidity and mortality

The advantage of early excision and grafting in the treatment of limited full-thickness burns has been clearly established. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the role of early burn wound excision in major pediatric burns. Of the 470 pediatric burn admissions between 1979 and 1984 that were reviewed, 53 patients met the criteria of deep second or third degree burns greater than 25% total body surface area (TBSA). Of these, 20 had burn wound excision within 7 days (Early) and 33 had delayed excision and grafting (Late). The Early group, despite having greater transfusion requirements (69.4 v 36.2 cc/kg), had shorter hospital stays (35.3 v 49.1 d, P less than 0.05), fewer metabolic complications (20% v 79%, P less than 0.001), and less burn wound contamination (55% v 90%, P less than 0.01) than the Late group. Mortality was lower in the Early group (0% v 12%), but this was not statistically significant. Early excision and grafting are therefore recommended in the care of major burns in children.     

Surgical treatment of burns in elderly patients

This study evaluates our experience with surgical treatment of burns in the elderly. Forty-two patients more than 59 years old were treated from 1982 to 1986. The mean age was 73, and the mean TBSA burned was 29%. The patients were divided into three groups. Group I had 22 patients with less than 20% TBSA burn (mean of 11%, with a mean of 6% full-thickness burns). Their survival rate was 91%. Group II had 11 patients with 21-40% TBSA burns (mean of 32%, with a mean of 17% full-thickness burns). Their survival rate was 82%. Group III had nine patients with burns greater than 40% TBSA (mean, 71%). None of these patients survived. Twenty of 29 (68%) survivors required a total of 36 operations. The mean area grafted per procedure was 8%. Each procedure required a mean of 2U packed red blood cells, and a mean of 2 1/4 hours. The complication rate was 33%, with partial graft loss (14%) being the most frequent. The average hospital stay was 27 days in Group I and 45 days in Group II. Only 25% of the patients required nursing home assistance at discharge.     

镇江地区五年来职业烧伤回顾性调查

对镇江地区1986～1991年221例职业烧伤病例进行了分析总结。本组平均年龄31.2岁,男性占83.4%,79.6%的病人在伤后24 h 内入院。首位致伤原因为火焰(33%)。平均烧伤面积17.1%,平均Ⅲ度面积8.1%。8.1%的病人并发吸人性损伤。本组死亡率为1.8%。平均住院时间34.3天,平均住院费用3千余元。文章强调对职业烧伤的现场急救和正确的早期处理,讨论了降低职业烧伤发病率的初步设想,旨在为劳保部门和其它地区职业烧伤研究提供参考。     

Assessment of burn wound sepsis by swab, full thickness biopsy culture and blood culture--a comparative study

Fifty patients with burns ranging from 30 to 50 per cent of their body surface area were monitored for sepsis throughout their hospital stay using swab, blood and full thickness biopsy culture techniques. The relative merits of these techniques in the diagnosis of burn wound sepsis were evaluated. Only 62.5 per cent of the patients with a positive surface culture showed signs of clinical sepsis, while 87.5 per cent of the patients with significant bacterial count on biopsy culture showed signs of clinical sepsis. A decrease in bacterial count on follow up correlated with clinical improvement while a count of 10(8) orgs/gm indicated a bad prognosis. Wound surface cultures, though the simplest method gave poor indication of the organisms invading into the burn wound. Blood cultures were of only prognostic value. Full thickness biopsy culture and quantification of the number of bacteria in the burn wound was felt to be the best method for rapid diagnosis and for assessing the progress of burn wound infection.     

Analysis of 12,661 pediatric burns in Wuhan institute of burns: A retrospective study of fifteen years

BackgroundBy analyzing the epidemic characteristics of pediatric burns in a burn center serving large areas of Hubei Provence and partly surrounding provinces around Wuhan City, the aim of this study is to provide better strategies for the prevention and care for pediatric burns.MethodsPediatric burn patients who were younger than 13 years old in Wuhan Third Hospital from 2004 to 2018 were included. Demographic and clinical data were collected, analyzed and compared among groups.Results12,661 pediatric burns, mean aged 2.37 ± 2.30 y, were admitted during the 15 years, with 7973 boys (62.97%) and 4688 girls (37.03%). By age groups, infant (<3y), preschool (>3−6y) and school children (>6−13y) accounted for 81.12% (10,270 cases), 12.08% (1530 cases) and 6.80% (861 cases) respectively. The most cause of injury was scalds (11,232, 88.71%), followed by flame burns (917, 7.24%), electric burns (201, 1.59%), contact burns (127, 1.00%), firework or firecracker (124, 0.98%), chemical burns (40, 0.32%) and hot crush injury (20, 0.16%). The mean age of firework or firecracker burns was 6.19 ± 2.83y, electric burns 5.18 ± 3.31y, flame burns 4.73 ± 3.53y, hot crush injury 3.85 ± 2.37 y, contact burns 3.66 ± 3.35y, chemical burns 3.03 ± 2.50y, and scald 2.06 ± 1.91y. Over half cases (57.34%) were small burns less than 10% total burn surface area (TBSA) and the larger TBSA, the fewer number of patients. The mortality rate was 0.11% and correlated with TBSA, age and etiology. The mean length of stay (LOS) was 12.63 ± 11.91 days and highly correlated with etiology and TBSA. The mean hospital cost was 11210.76 ± 21248.87 RMB (about 1600 USD) or 1626.91 ± 3957.59 RMB (about 230 USD) per % TBSA, which was correlated with depth of burn, TBSA, etiology, LOS and age.ConclusionPediatric burns in central China was still common and even increasing. Majority of the pediatric burn victims were boys under three years old, while the mean ages of different etiologies varied from about 2–6 years old. Education and prevention aiming the high risks are the key point to decrease pediatric burns.     

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteremia in burn patients

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia has been increasingly reported as a nosocomial opportunistic pathogen in debilitated patients, including burn patients. There is, however, only one published report in English that discusses S. maltophilia bacteremia in burns. We performed a retrospective chart review and statistical analysis of the incidence, the duration of hospital stays before a diagnosis of bacteremia, antimicrobial susceptibility, prognosis, and mortality risk factors in burn patients. From January 1996 to December 2004, 14 episodes of S. maltophilia bacteremia in 13 of 666 patients admitted to the burn center at our hospital were identified. The patients, nine males and four females, ranged in age from 1 to 76 years (mean: 42.9+/-24.4 years). Eleven injuries were from flame burns and two were from scald burns. The mean total burned surface area (TBSA) was 47+/-30.2% and mean prognostic burn index (PBI) was 81.7+/-31.3. The average annual incidence was 2.3 episodes per 1000 admissions, and no outbreak cluster was noticed. The mean hospital stay before bacteremia was 19.8+/-11.9 days. Most isolates were susceptible to ticarcillin-clavulanate (87.5%) and moxalactam (85.7%). The overall mortality was 30.7% (4/13) and correlated significantly with TBSA (P<0.01) and PBI (P<0.05). The incidence of S. maltophilia bacteremia was higher in hospitalized burn patients than in hospitalized non-burn patients. Different antimicrobial susceptibility patterns may exist, especially in different geographic regions. Awareness of the possibility of infection by this opportunistic pathogen and commencement of adequate antibiotics treatment, especially after 3 weeks of intensive care, should be incorporated into the strategy of treatment in major burn patients.     

镇江地区五年来职业烧伤回顾性调查

对镇江地区１９８６～１９９１年２２１例职业烧伤病例进行了分析总结。本组平均年龄３１．２岁，男性占８３．４％，７９．６％的病人在伤后２４ｈ内入院。首位致伤原因为火焰（３３％）。平均烧伤面积１７．１％，平均Ⅲ度面积８．１％。８．１％的病人并发吸入性损伤。本组死亡率为１．８％。平均住院时间３４．３天，平均住院费用３千余元。文章强调对职业烧伤的现场急救和正确的早期处理，讨论了降低职业烧伤发病率的初步设想，旨在为劳保部门和其它地区职业烧伤研究提供参考。     

Selective intestinal decontamination for prevention of wound colonization in severely burned patients: a retrospective analysis.

In this study the effect of selective intestinal decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) on wound colonization was investigated. Ninety-one patients with at least 25 per cent total burned surface area (TBSA) were included in this study. All patients received oral polymyxin. In 63 patients oral co-trimoxazole and amphotericin B were added to the regimen. The addition of co-trimoxazole decreased the incidence of Enterobacteriaceae wound colonization from 71 per cent to 11 per cent (P less than 0.005). Colonization with Proteus was eliminated in patients treated with co-trimoxazole, compared with an incidence of 36 per cent in the group treated with polymyxin alone (P less than 0.001). The addition of amphotericin B decreased yeast colonization of the burn wound from 39 per cent to 10 per cent (P less than 0.005). A close relation was observed between burn wound colonization and colonization of the gastrointestinal tract. No resistant bacterial strains emerged during the period of study. These results suggest that SDD is an effective method for prevention of wound colonization. Further controlled studies are needed to establish the role of SDD in preventing burn wound colonization and wound sepsis.     

Changes in serum phosphorus level in patients with severe burns: A prospective study

BackgroundThe second most abundant mineral in the body, phosphorus (P), is absorbed in the small intestine after ingestion enhanced by 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D, and its excretion is exclusively regulated by the kidney. It is clinically significant, aside from its disturbance in burn ICU patient’s P mechanism. The increasing rate of morbidity and mortality among the patients can be associated with severe hypophosphatemia. The current study aimed at investigating the changes in serum P levels in the early period after burns, the relationship between serum P level and TBSA (total body surface area) of burn, and the impact of hypophosphatemia on patients’ clinical outcomes.Material and methodsThe current prospective, observational study was conducted on 137 patients hospitalized in the burn intensive unit (BICU) of Velayat Sub-specialty Burn and Plastic Surgery Center from December 2015 to May 2017. According to the TBSA percentage, the patients were divided into three groups. The level of serum P was determined in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th days of hospital stay and before discharge. To evaluate the trend of P changes in the sixtime-points, the average changes along with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used for multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures (repeated measures ANOVA). A P-value of 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant. The analyses were performed using SPSS software, version 19 (SPSS Inc.).ResultsTotally, 137 patients (70% male, mean age 32 ± 21years, and TBSA 32.6 ± 14%) were included in the study. The overall incidence of hypophosphatemia was 75.1%. Hypophosphatemia developed as early as 1.66 ± 0.136 (95%CI: 1.4–1.9) days after injury. The highest decrease in the serum P level was observed on the 3rd and 5th days after burn as 2.78 mg/dL and 2.85 mg/dL, respectively (P-value = 0.001). A correlation was observed between TBSA and serum P level. The mean serum P level decreased with increasing the percentage of burns. There was a correlation between serum P level and mortality; therefore, a decrease in serum P level increased the patient's mortality rate (P < 0.05).ConclusionThe current study highlighted that hypophosphatemia is often observed in patients with burn injuries during their hospitalization. It is potentially beneficial to identify patients at risk of hypophosphatemia. Therefore, it is suggested that P level be assessed regularly in patients with burn injuries for the timely initiation of P replacement therapy.     

Burns in patients under 2 and over 70 years of age

A total of 246 consecutive burn patients younger than 2 years and older than 70 years of age admitted to a burn center were reviewed retrospectively to study morbidity and mortality specific to these two age groups. Of these patients, 165 were less than 2 years of age and 81 were over 70 years of age, representing 16% and 8% of the total patient population respectively. In patients under 2, scald burns occurred in 127 (77%) and flame burns in 18 (11%). In patients over 70, flame was the most common burn mechanism, occurring in 64 (79%) patients, while scalds occurred in 12 (15%). The mean total body surface area (TBSA) burned in the younger age group was 13.2% (2.4% full thickness, 10.8% partial thickness) and in the older age group was 25% (12.8% full thickness, 12.2% partial thickness). Only 1 death occurred in the younger age group (0.6% mortality), while 41 deaths occurred in the older age group (50.6% mortality). If the burn involved a total body surface area greater than 40%, all patients died (100% mortality). A total of 36 complications occurred in the younger age group (0.2 complications per patient) and 111 in the older age group (1.4 per patient). Burn wound sepsis was the most common complication in each group, occurring in 28 patients under 2 and 42 elderly patients, and was responsible for the 1 death in the younger age group. Although burn wound sepsis was the most common complication in those patients over 70, cardiovascular and pulmonary complications were the most deadly, accounting for 68% (28 patients) of total deaths in this group.     

Burns in motor vehicle accidents

Burns received as a result of motor vehicle accidents (MVA's) create special problems in their care, as they are frequently severe and are often associated with other injuries. One hundred seventy-eight consecutive patients with burns sustained in an MVA were studied. The mean TBSA burn was 33.9%. The mortality was 24.7%, but the mean burn size in this fatal group was almost doubled at 63.9%. The injury most commonly associated with death was inhalation injury (in 36.3%). Thirty-six per cent of the patients sustained other injuries in addition to their burn, the most frequent of which was to the musculoskeletal system (67 injuries). Multiple trauma had little effect on mortality unless severe, but fractures especially complicated burn wound care unless surgically stabilized. Current methods of management are presented along with our approach to multiply injured burn patients.     

Experience of immediate burn wound excision and grafting for patients with extensive burns

The treatment of the patients with extensive burns has advanced dramatically in the past 10 years, and the mortality rate has also been reduced. The establishment of the skin-bank network as well as the development of emergency and critical care medicine can be cited as reasons Moreover, immediate burn wound excision and grafting for patients with extensive burns may be beneficial. Meticulous management is required perioperatively to perform these procedures safely during burn shock. Patients with extensive burns are susceptible to hypothermia while receiving massive fluid resuscitation. We use a warmer device (Level 1) to keep burn patients warm. From 1991 to 2003, we performed immediate burn wound excision and grafting in 26 extensively burned patients within 24 hours after burn injury. We completed the surgery within 2 hours and excised burn wounds covering 40% of the total body surface area (TBSA). The mean age was 57 +/- 22 (mean +/- SD years), the mean burn surface area (% of TBSA) was 47 +/- 20, the mean burn index was 45 +/- 19, and the mean prognostic burn index was 94 +/- 36. There were 15 survivors and 11 deaths, for an overall mortality rate of 43%.     

Economic burden of burn injuries in the Netherlands: A 3 months follow-up study

IntroductionBurn care has rapidly improved in the past decades. However, healthcare innovations can be expensive, demanding careful choices on their implementation. Obtaining knowledge on the extent of the costs of burn injuries is an essential first step for economic evaluations within burn care. The objective of this study was to determine the economic burden of patients with burns admitted to a burn centre and to identify important cost categories until 3 months post-burn.Patients and methodsA prospective cohort study was conducted in the burn centre of Maasstad Hospital Rotterdam, the Netherlands, including all patients with acute burn related injuries from August 2011 until July 2012. Total costs were calculated from a societal perspective, until 3 months post injury. Subgroup analyses were performed to examine whether the mean total costs per patient differed by age, aetiology or percentage total body surface area (TBSA) burned.ResultsIn our population, with a mean burn size of 8%, mean total costs were €26,540 per patient varying from €742 to €235,557. Most important cost categories were burn centre days (62%), surgical interventions (5%) and work absence (20%). Flame burns were significantly more costly than other types of burns, adult patients were significantly more costly than children and adolescents and a higher percentage TBSA burned also corresponded to significantly higher costs.Discussion and conclusionMean total costs of burn care in the first 3 months post injury were estimated at €26,540 and depended on age, aetiology and TBSA. Mean total costs in our population probably apply to other high-income countries as well, although we should realise that patients with burn injuries are diverse and represent a broad range of total costs. To reduce costs of burn care, future intervention studies should focus on a timely wound healing, reducing length of stay and enabling an early return to work.     

Epidemiology of burn injuries in Singapore from 1997 to 2003

The Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Burn Centre receives more than 93% of burn cases occurring in Singapore. The Centre also received patients from the Southeast Asian region. The collection and analysis of burn epidemiology data in recent years from Singapore would provide insights into new prevention/management strategies in terms of population profile and economic activities. Data pertaining to burn patients admitted to SGH Burn Centre between January 1997 and December 2003 were studied retrospectively in terms of admissions' demographics, extent of burn (TBSA), causes of burns, length of hospital stay (LOS) and mortality. A total of 2019 burn patients were admitted with an annual admission of 288. This presented an incidence rate for burn injury (with admission) of 0.07 per 1000 general population. The male to female ratio is 2.2:1 and the mean age of admission is 32.5years. The mean extent of burn was 11.5% and patients with burn size 10% TBSA and less made up the majority of admissions at 70.7% while patients with burn size 30% TBSA and more made up 8.2%. The most common cause of burn injury is scald at 45.6% followed by flame at 35.2%. The overall mean LOS and mortality are 10.8days and 4.61%, respectively. An annual trend of falling mortality rate for admissions with burn size >30% TBSA was observed-60% in year 2000 to 30% in 2003. This is a result of massive early excision and grafting of severe burn patients. 17.6% of patients were children of 12years and below, showing a 11.9% reduction from previous study in the 80s. This is consistent with the city's demographics of falling fertility rate and improved living and social conditions. Occupational burn admissions account for 33.4% of total admissions, a reduction of 11.6% from a study in the early 90s. Occurrence of occupational flame burns decreased by 9.5% due to an improvement in fire prevention and management of the industrial sectors. However, chemical burns increased by 12.6% as the chemical sector in Singapore grew at a rate of 10% from year 1995 to 2000. Singapore has also derived much experience from the management of mass casualties resulting from SQ006 plane crash and bomb blasts in Bali as well as in Jakarta. In total, 315 victims were treated (4 from SQ006, 16 from Bali and 15 from Jakarta) with 1 mortality. The burns admissions in Singapore has a profile consistent with population demographics. Scald is the major cause of burns and most of these injuries are preventable. While the industries have made inroads into good fire prevention and management, management of chemical burns and other occupational hazards will continue to be scrutinized and advice given in terms of regulations, work processes and personal protective gears.