[Long-term results of airways' injury after a methane explosion].

Injuries caused by thermal trauma more and more often affect people and they are an important problem of contemporary medicine. It is connected with the civilization development. Burn concerns not only the exterior integuments of the body but also airways, in those cases, the death rate among those who were injured with the thermal trauma increases. The treatment of both the burns and their complications is a long-lasting process, involving many specialists of various disciplines, and not always does it bring the wanted effects. The aim of the study was the assessment of the late morphological sequels inside the larynx and ventilation efficiency as a result of thermal inhalation trauma in the airways of the coal miners after the methane explosion. The methodology of examinations consisted of subjective evaluation of ventilation efficacy by MRC scale and ventilating rate measurement FEV1, FVC, FEV1%, PEF, MEF50, PIF, MIF 50, FIV. The morphological larynx evaluation was conducted based on videolaryngoscopy. 23 injured coal miners, who had been burnt at work in coal mines in 2003 in the methane explosion, were put under scrutiny. All the above mentioned examinations were done to the study group, but also to the specially selected control group, 23 coal miners. During the ventilating rates analysis in the study group, their lower values were noticed in comparison to the control group, however, the values were still within the clinical norms. Videolaryngoscopy showed hypertrophy of the laryngeal tissues.