Peripheral neurological problems in the acute burn patient

Electromyographic and nerve conduction data in evaluation of 66 burn patients revealed a 29 per cent incidence of peripheral polyneuropathy. Patchy myopathic findings, probably related to multiple injections, were noted in the proximal muscles of 22 patients. Entrapment mononeuropathies of the ulnar, median and peroneal nerver were found. These neuromuscular abnormalities produce clinical motor and sensory deficits which limit rehabilitation in the burned patient, and further work is immediately needed to determine the pathophysiology of these abnormalities.