Amish Burn Treatment Meets a Major Trauma Centre: Success With Cooperation

Abstract

The Canadian Charter of Freedom and Rights asks us to be mindful of cultural or religious requests when providing healthcare, however alternative medicine is not commonly considered during acute burn resuscitation despite the value patients may place in it. We present a case study of a 46-year-old Amish gentleman with 22% TBSA (TotalBody Surface Area) deep thermal burns who requested traditional Amish burn wound treatment administered by his community elders while an inpatient at our academic burn centre. This case report illustrates the possibility of successful burn wound healing while respecting the traditional cultural beliefs of a patient and his community. Very little is found in the literature to date that describes the blending of traditional and novel treatments in an academic centre, and this largely unstudied area of medicine may present an opportunity for innovation and further discussion about the incorporation of alternative medicine in burn care.