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Ambulance crews estimate burn size accurately

Comparison of burn surface area estimated by ambulance crews or referring hospitals and an Advanced Critical Care and Emergency Center
Burns · Added 29 July 2026

Study comparing burn size estimates by ambulance crews and referring hospitals against definitive assessment at a specialised burn center — reports accuracy of prehospital burn assessment.

Study type

Cohort

Design

Retrospective single-centre comparison

Participants

176 burn inpatients (134 direct ambulance transport, 42 inter-hospital transfer), Japan

Main finding

Pre-transfer burn surface area estimates by ambulance crews and referring physicians exceeded specialist assessments but the overestimation was not clinically important

Caveat

Single Japanese centre; generalisability limited

Bottom line

Supports current practice

Learning goal

Strengthen my judgement when estimating burn surface area to improve triage and referral decisions.

More

• Topic: Trauma
• Daily scan: 29 July 2026

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