Clinical outcomes after burns in elderly patients over 70 years: A 17-year retrospective analysis

• Published in: Burns 2018-02, Vol.44 (1), p.65-69
• Main Authors: Gregg, Dexter, Patil, Sachin, Singh, Kanwardeep, Marano, Michael A., Lee, Robin, Petrone, Sylvia J., Chamberlain, Ronald S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Burn Units - statistics & numerical data; Burns; Burns - complications; Burns - mortality; Burns - therapy; Elderly; Female; Humans; Inhalation injury; Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data; Male; Multivariate Analysis; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) - statistics & numerical data; Outcomes; Retrospective Studies; Smoke Inhalation Injury - complications
• ISSN: 0305-4179; 1879-1409
• DOI: 10.1016/j.burns.2017.09.018

•Burns in elderly could be lethal, especially in the presence of inhalation injury.•Aggressive and earlier treatment for small TBSA burns is imperative, which otherwise are associated with poor outcome in elderly patients.•Prevention strategies along with proper first aid treatment for burns should be taught to the elderly and those who look after them, in order to decrease morbidity and mortality. In the United Stated population >70years is likely to double by the year 2050. Elderly population (>70years) are most vulnerable to burns and outcomes following such injuries in this special group is poorly studied. This study aimed to look at outcomes following burns in patients >70years over a period of 17 years. Data on 6512 patients admitted to a Level I Burn Center between 1995 and 2011 was analyzed. Age, gender, ethnicity, TBSA, burn etiology, hospital and burn intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) and status at discharge were abstracted. Three broad categories were created based on presence or absence of smoke inhalation, No smoke inhalation (Group A), smoke inhalation only (Group B) and smoke inhalation with burn injury (Group C). Differences were analyzed using the student’s t-test for continuous variables and Chi-Square test for categorical variables. The study group was comprised of 564 patients, 72.3% in group A, 4.8% in group B and 22.9% in group C formed the study population. The mean age of the patients studied was 80.4±6.7, with female patients being more common (58%). The number of Caucasians (72.9%) was highest in group C compared to other racial groups (p=0.047). Majority of patients in the group B (59.3%) were admitted directly compared to other two groups (group A=24.0%, group B=34.9%, p