A study of skin temperatures, sweat rate and heat loss for burned patients.

The influence of the thermal environment on heat losses from patients with severe burns has been studied. Burn wounds were several degrees cooler than intact skin when patients were admitted to hospital. Wound temperatures gradually increased, becoming similar to those of intact skin by three days after injury. Temperatures of intact skin in peripheral regions of burned patients were raised. Evaporation of fluid from wounds of patients with 15-36% burns increased heat loss by 50-120 W, but sweating could increase heat losses by several hundred watts. Patients with large percentage burns tended to sweat less than others with smaller burns, under the same conditions. Patients with over 30% burns could be treated at air temperatures up to 35 degrees C without inducing sweating in the Intensive Care Room, which had forced airflow and good temperature control. Patients treated in standard wards where it was difficult to maintain a constant air temperature were more likely to sweat.