A retrospective analysis of 1083 Turkish patients with serious burns. Part 2: burn care, survival and mortality

Epidemiological investigations of burn patient series help practitioners to identify factors that affect patient survival. Our aim was to contribute to the body of knowledge in this area by determining how survival related to certain variables in burn cases. The records of 1083 burn patients who were hospitalised between August 1988 and the end of 1997 were retrospectively reviewed. Of this total, 363 (33.5%) died of burn complications, namely, multi-organ injury due to sepsis (47.1% of deaths), renal failure (44.6%), respiratory injury (5.8%) and gastrointestinal bleeding (2.5%). Mortality was higher in children/students, females, retired persons. Extent and depth of burn were important predictors of patient survival. Flame not only was the commonest burn cause but also carried the highest mortality risk. Most of the 1083 patients were referred to our hospital within 3 days of the injury. Deaths commonly occurred within 7 days. The mortality rate for patients who received medical therapy only was higher than that in the group that underwent both medical and surgical treatment (48.4 versus 10.0%, respectively). The study results highlighted various factors that are related to patient survival. These should be considered in the provision of optimal burn care. Training and experience are important elements in burn care and educational meetings should be held regularly for the staff of the burn unit.