Is superficial burn caused by ultraviolet radiation (sunburn) comparable to superficial burn caused by heat - a histomorphological comparison by in vivo Reflectance-Mode-Confocal Microscopy
Regardless of the underlying cause, both sunburn and superficial thermal injuries are classified as first-degree burns, since data on morphological differences are scarce. Reflectance-Mode-Confocal Microscopy (RMCM) enables high-resolution non-invasive investigation of the human skin. We studied in...
Saved in:
Published in | Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Vol. 23; no. 12; pp. 1389 - 1393 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford, UK
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.12.2009
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Regardless of the underlying cause, both sunburn and superficial thermal injuries are classified as first-degree burns, since data on morphological differences are scarce. Reflectance-Mode-Confocal Microscopy (RMCM) enables high-resolution non-invasive investigation of the human skin.
We studied in vivo histomorphological alterations in both sunburn and superficial thermal injuries using RMCM.
Ten patients (6 female, 4 male; aged 28.4 +/- 10.6 years) with first-degree thermal-contact Injuries (TI group), and 9 sunburned patients (SB group; 7 female, 2 male; aged 30.2 +/- 16.4 years), to a maximum extent of 10% of the body surface were evaluated 24 h after burn injury using RMCM. The following parameters were obtained using RMCM: stratum corneum thickness, epidermal thickness, basal layer thickness, granular cell size.
Compared to the controls (12.8 +/- 2.5 microm), stratum corneum thickness decreased significantly to 10.6 +/- 2.1 microm in the TI group, whereas it increased significantly to 16.4 +/- 3.1 microm in the SB group. The epidermal thickness did not differ significantly in the TI group (47.9 +/- 2.3 microm) and SB group (49.1 +/- 3.5 microm); however, both increased significantly compared to their respective controls (41.8 +/- 1.4 microm). The basal layer thickness increased more in the SB group compared to the TI group (17.9 +/- 1.4 microm vs. 15.6 +/- 1.1 microm). Both differed also significantly compared to their controls (13.8 +/- 0.9 microm). The granular cell size increased significantly in both groups compared to the controls (731 +/- 42 microm); however, a significantly higher increase was observed in the TI group (852 +/- 58 microm) compared to the SB group (784 +/- 61 microm).
Ultraviolet radiation seems to influence predominantly deeper epidermal layers, whereas heat-induced burns affect more superficial epidermal layers. The term 'First-degree burn' should not be used synonymously for sunburn and superficial thermal burn injuries. Conflicts of interest None declared. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ArticleID:JDV3322 istex:40209722E339BB16B66519161C5C368B6AB28845 ark:/67375/WNG-1FT4PRL0-R Name of the institution at which the research was conducted. Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Carl‐Neuberg‐Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0926-9959 1468-3083 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2009.03322.x |