Classification of Frostbite Injury Based on Depth of the Injury

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Release 24.0, April 2009

The Medical Algorithms Project

Chapter :

ch34. Environmental Health

Section :

Low Environmental Temperatures

Classification of Frostbite Injury Based on Depth of the Injury

Overview :

A simplified classification of frostbite injury is based on the depth of injury. This correlates with the therapeutic needs and outcome.

Types of frostbite injury:

(1) superficial (skn and subcutaneous tissues)

(2) deep (bone, muscles, fascia, tendons)

Feature	Superficial	Deep
response to digital pressure	supple	firm and resilient
sensation after thawing	painful	anesthetic
edema after rewarming	none to moderate	severe
blistering	none to clear	violaceous
color of the tissue	hyperemic	bluish-gray, dusky
outcome	normal or cold sensitive	tissue loss or gangrene

References:

Mills WJ, Whaley R, Fish W. Frostbite: Experience with rapid rewarming and ultrasonic therapy. Alsaks Med. 1960; 2: 114.

Vogel JE, Dellon AL. Frostbite injuries of the hand. Clinics in Plastic Surgery. 1989; 16: 565-576. (Table 1, page 566).

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