White phosphorous civilian hand burns – An aid to timely treatment of a rare entity

First discovered in 1669, white phosphorus is well known for its use in military warfare (Davis, 2002). Its application has since been expanded to include industrial disinfectants, fertilisers and fireworks (Davis, 2002). Exposure to white phosphorus can lead to severe chemical burns with high morbi...

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Main Authors: Eimear Phoenix, Varit Suwanwalaikorn, Jordan Wilkinson, Colin M. Morrison, Roisin T. Dolan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-04-01
Series:Trauma Case Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352644024000062
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author Eimear Phoenix
Varit Suwanwalaikorn
Jordan Wilkinson
Colin M. Morrison
Roisin T. Dolan
author_facet Eimear Phoenix
Varit Suwanwalaikorn
Jordan Wilkinson
Colin M. Morrison
Roisin T. Dolan
author_sort Eimear Phoenix
collection DOAJ
description First discovered in 1669, white phosphorus is well known for its use in military warfare (Davis, 2002). Its application has since been expanded to include industrial disinfectants, fertilisers and fireworks (Davis, 2002). Exposure to white phosphorus can lead to severe chemical burns with high morbidity and potentially fatal systemic effects. Fortunately, civilian casualties from this potent agent are remarkably rare with few reports in the literature to date (Frank et al., 2008; Aviv et al., 2017). We present the case of a 27-year-old fisherman who sustained a chemical burn to his right hand from a substance suspected to be white phosphorus. We propose an evidence-based algorithm to guide non-military physicians literature on the acute management of white phosphorus burns to optimise timely emergency management of this uncommonly encountered substance.
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issn 2352-6440
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series Trauma Case Reports
spelling doaj-art-b58b10fd4eec4d038a4781426d89f74d2025-08-20T03:47:09ZengElsevierTrauma Case Reports2352-64402024-04-015010098310.1016/j.tcr.2024.100983White phosphorous civilian hand burns – An aid to timely treatment of a rare entityEimear Phoenix0Varit Suwanwalaikorn1Jordan Wilkinson2Colin M. Morrison3Roisin T. Dolan4Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, St Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland; Corresponding author at: Suite 1, Dept of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, St Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, St Stephen's Green, Dublin, IrelandFirst discovered in 1669, white phosphorus is well known for its use in military warfare (Davis, 2002). Its application has since been expanded to include industrial disinfectants, fertilisers and fireworks (Davis, 2002). Exposure to white phosphorus can lead to severe chemical burns with high morbidity and potentially fatal systemic effects. Fortunately, civilian casualties from this potent agent are remarkably rare with few reports in the literature to date (Frank et al., 2008; Aviv et al., 2017). We present the case of a 27-year-old fisherman who sustained a chemical burn to his right hand from a substance suspected to be white phosphorus. We propose an evidence-based algorithm to guide non-military physicians literature on the acute management of white phosphorus burns to optimise timely emergency management of this uncommonly encountered substance.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352644024000062Chemical burnsHand burnsHand trauma, upper limb trauma
spellingShingle Eimear Phoenix
Varit Suwanwalaikorn
Jordan Wilkinson
Colin M. Morrison
Roisin T. Dolan
White phosphorous civilian hand burns – An aid to timely treatment of a rare entity
Trauma Case Reports
Chemical burns
Hand burns
Hand trauma, upper limb trauma
title White phosphorous civilian hand burns – An aid to timely treatment of a rare entity
title_full White phosphorous civilian hand burns – An aid to timely treatment of a rare entity
title_fullStr White phosphorous civilian hand burns – An aid to timely treatment of a rare entity
title_full_unstemmed White phosphorous civilian hand burns – An aid to timely treatment of a rare entity
title_short White phosphorous civilian hand burns – An aid to timely treatment of a rare entity
title_sort white phosphorous civilian hand burns an aid to timely treatment of a rare entity
topic Chemical burns
Hand burns
Hand trauma, upper limb trauma
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352644024000062
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AT jordanwilkinson whitephosphorouscivilianhandburnsanaidtotimelytreatmentofarareentity
AT colinmmorrison whitephosphorouscivilianhandburnsanaidtotimelytreatmentofarareentity
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