A burn is skin, and sometimes deeper tissue, destroyed by heat, chemicals, electricity or radiation. Most burns in dogs are small and heal with wound care, but burns over a large part of the body cause burn shock, massive fluid and protein loss and a long hypermetabolic illness, and burns that come with smoke inhalation are worse again. For the exam you need to judge depth and extent, calculate resuscitation fluids, and recognize the two special cases: the puppy that chewed an electrical cord and the dog pulled from a house fire.
Key facts
Burns at a glance- Species and system: dogs (and cats); skin first, then the cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic systems in severe burns.
- Causes: thermal burns are the most common (scalds, flames, heating pads, dryers, heat lamps, hot surfaces); also chemical, electrical and radiation injury.
- Severity: depth (superficial to full-thickness) and extent (% of total body surface area, TBSA). Local burns cover less than 20% TBSA; severe burn injury covers more than 20-30%.
- Classic presentations: a dorsal skin lesion appearing days after anesthesia on a heating device; oral commissure burns and dyspnea in a puppy that chewed a cord; soot, cough and tachypnea after a house fire.
- Zoonotic or reportable: no. Suspected deliberate burning raises animal-welfare reporting duties under local law.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 5 tables, 3 figures, 3 self-test questions and 15 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.