KNOWLEDGE OF THE NURSING TEAM IN EMERGENCY CARE FOR BURNS VICTIMS

Abstract

Introduction: Burns are traumatic injuries frequently caused by exposure to thermal, chemical, electrical or radioactive agents, in which nurses play a crucial role in the care of burn patients, especially in the emergency room. The treatment of these injuries is not always simple, and care in the first 24 hours is extremely important, requiring the nurse to understand the pathophysiology, classification and surgical treatment, in addition to being up to date with the most recent discoveries in the area. Objective: To identify the knowledge of the nursing team in the emergency care of burn victims. Methodology: A literature review was carried out. In order to guide the research, the following guiding question was adopted: what is the knowledge of the nursing team in the emergency care of burn victims? The search was carried out in the BVS, through the LILACS, BDENF and MEDLINE databases. The terms used in the search were DeCS “nursing care”, “emergencies” and “burns”, combined with the Boolean operator “AND”. The inclusion criteria were established as follows: full text in Portuguese, English or Spanish, addressing the topic in the last five years, with a cut-off point from 2019 to 2024. As for the exclusion criteria, articles that were not related to the topic in question and duplicate studies in the databases were discarded. After the initial search, the abstracts and titles of the selected articles were analyzed and reviewed. The data were then organized into tables and discussed in light of the relevant literature. Results and discussion: Care for burn patients depends on effective communication and multidisciplinary teamwork. Immediate care includes irrigating the burned area with running water for up to 20 minutes and protecting the region with dry cloth. The initial evaluation should involve removing burned clothing and a complete physical examination. However, many professionals demonstrate limited knowledge about burn classification and water management, compromising the quality of care. Although nurses and physicians have similar levels of knowledge, nurses make more errors in critical areas, which can negatively impact treatment. Knowledge is classified into different levels, from "lack of knowledge" to "extensive knowledge", reflecting the depth of understanding of the care required. CONCLUSION: Care for burn patients requires effective communication and multidisciplinary teamwork, with immediate care, such as irrigation of the affected area, being essential. However, deficient knowledge among health professionals was identified in critical areas, such as burn classification and water management, which can compromise the quality of care. It is essential to promote continuous training to improve the training of professionals and ensure patient safety and recovery.