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Last reviewed 01/2018
The burns patient or witness should specifically be asked about how the injury occurred. Certain scenarios have a greater tendency to produce inhalation injury:
- burns in an enclosed space:
- within a building
- in a car, for example after a road traffic accident
- within an armoured vehicle in military situations
- as a result of explosion:
- for civilians, usually secondary to petrol or gas fire explosions
- in military circumstances, as a result of the ignition of bombs or shells
There should be an enquiry about respiratory symptoms, for example, persistent coughing of carbonaceous sputum. Finally, there should be an enquiry about previous respiratory compromise, for example asthma.