Local Assessment of Management of Burn Patients

In the general intensive care unit (ICU) population, there is strong evidence for benefit from lung-protective mechanical ventilation, including the use of low tidal volumes and adequate levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). In burn patients it is highly uncertain whether these settings are beneficial and there are even concerns over safety of, in particular use of low tidal volumes. There is lack of international guidelines and consequently ventilation practice in burn patients may widely vary. The primary objective is to determine ventilation practice in burn ICUs worldwide, focusing on the size of tidal volumes and the levels of PEEP used for burn patients. In addition, data on other strategies considered important in patients who receive ventilation are also collected, including data on neuromuscular blocking agents, sedatives and analgesics, and type and amount of intravenous fluids used in the period of ventilation. The secondary objective is to determine the association between tidal volume size and levels of PEEP, and duration of ventilation in burn patients.