Burn patients with TBSA greater than what percent are at increased risk for hypothermia?

• A. 10%
• B. 20%
• C. 30%
• D. 40%

Answer: (B)

Heat loss rises quickly when skin is burned because the insulating barrier is gone and evaporative cooling from exposed tissue increases. Once TBSA exceeds about twenty percent in adults, the body's heat production can no longer keep up with this loss, so hypothermia becomes a real risk. That’s why maintaining a warm environment and using warming measures (like warmed IV fluids and blankets) is essential in burn care. The risk is generally lower at smaller TBSA and clearly higher as the burn size approaches and exceeds twenty percent, with even greater risk as it climbs toward thirty to forty percent.