PURPOSE: All deep second and third degree burns are at risk to develop hypertrophic scars which can severely undermine the quality of survival. To assess the severity of scarring, several technical devices or tools have been introduced to evaluate one or more aspects of the scar, enabling comparison of different treatment protocols and allowing an objective follow-up. The objective of this study was to review which tools can be used in objective burn scar assessment. BASIC PROCEDURES: The Systematic literature search involving PubMed, the Web of Science (incl. Science Citation Index). MAIN FINDINGS: 51 articles with burn scar assessment as main topic were found. Several characteristics of the scar can be assessed, such as color, metric features and elasticity, but none of the available tools covers the whole aspect of the scar. Especially subjective factors such as pain and itching cannot be assessed with those tools, in spite of their great impact on the patient's quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Scar tools enable objective and reproducible evaluation of scars, which is essential for scientific studies and medico-legal purposes, and in selected cases for the clinical follow-up of an individual patient. Further studies to evaluate these tools on scars are nevertheless required.
PURPOSE: All deep second and third degree burns are at risk to develop hypertrophic scars which can severely undermine the quality of survival. To assess the severity of scarring, several technical devices or tools have been introduced to evaluate one or more aspects of the scar, enabling comparison of different treatment protocols and allowing an objective follow-up. The objective of this study was to review which tools can be used in objective burn scar assessment. BASIC PROCEDURES: The Systematic literature search involving PubMed, the Web of Science (incl. Science Citation Index). MAIN FINDINGS: 51 articles with burn scar assessment as main topic were found. Several characteristics of the scar can be assessed, such as color, metric features and elasticity, but none of the available tools covers the whole aspect of the scar. Especially subjective factors such as pain and itching cannot be assessed with those tools, in spite of their great impact on the patient's quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Scar tools enable objective and reproducible evaluation of scars, which is essential for scientific studies and medico-legal purposes, and in selected cases for the clinical follow-up of an individual patient. Further studies to evaluate these tools on scars are nevertheless required.
Authors: Mitchell Peake; Kristen Pan; R Maxwell Rotatori; Heather Powell; Laura Fowler; Laura James; Elizabeth Dale Journal: Burns Date: 2019-06-15 Impact factor: 2.744
Authors: Celeste C Finnerty; Marc G Jeschke; Ludwik K Branski; Juan P Barret; Peter Dziewulski; David N Herndon Journal: Lancet Date: 2016-10-01 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: Linda Vriend; Joris A van Dongen; Anouk Pijpe; Marianne K Nieuwenhuis; Sandra J M Jongen; Martin C Harmsen; Paul P M van Zuijlen; Berend van der Lei Journal: Trials Date: 2022-07-19 Impact factor: 2.728
Authors: An De Groef; Marijke Van Kampen; Peter Moortgat; Mieke Anthonissen; Eric Van den Kerckhove; Marie-Rose Christiaens; Patrick Neven; Inge Geraerts; Nele Devoogdt Journal: PLoS One Date: 2018-03-09 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Jodie Wiseman; Robert S Ware; Megan Simons; Steven McPhail; Roy Kimble; Anne Dotta; Zephanie Tyack Journal: Clin Rehabil Date: 2019-09-30 Impact factor: 3.477