[Inhalation injury in burn patients].

The clinical course of inhalation injury is variable. The routine use of fiberoptic bronchoscopy provides an accurate and safe diagnosis; by this examination it is possible to recognize alterations down to the terminal airway. Biopsies of tracheobronchial mucosa can ensure the diagnosis. By means of fiberoptic examination and blood gases it is possible to realize a differentiation of inhalation injury. According to the analysis of our patients an inhalation injury was found in 20.1%. The mortality rate due to the inhalation injury amounts to 14.4%.