[Surgical therapy and critical care medicine in severely burned patients - Part 1: the first 24 ours].

Critical care medicine in severely burned patients should be adapted to the different pathophysiological phases. Accordingly, surgical and non-surgical therapy must be coordinated adequately. Initial wound care comprises topical treatment of less severely injured skin and surgical debridement of severely burned areas. The first 24 hours of intensive care are focused on calculated fluid delivery to provide stable hemodynamics and avoid progression of local edema formation. In the further course wound treatment with split-thickness skin grafts is the major aim of surgical therapy. Critical care is focused on the avoidance of complications like infections and ventilator associated lung injury. Therefore, lung-protective ventilation strategies, weaning and sedation protocols, and early enteral nutrition are important cornerstones of the treatment.