The burn patient: II. Later care and complications of thermal injury.

The care necessary for the extensively burned patient is of an intensity, variety and duration most effectively and economically provided by the multidisciplinary staff of a specialized treatment facility. The organization of burn care in the United States has been well regionalized in recognition of this fact. The burn care given and the research carried out at burn units and burn centers has led to the identification of the pathophysiologic changes, the development of new treatments and the improvement in functional result and survival described in this review.