Trends in hospital care of burns in Canada

A review of burn admission patterns to Canadian hospitals from 1966 to 1991 from Statistics Canada data was prompted by a decrease to 125 burn patients admitted to Vancouver General Hospital in 1990 after a plateau at 180-195 per year for 6 years. The total number of fires from Fire Commissioner's data and data from 20 of the 27 Canadian burn units was analyzed. Canadian burn admissions decreased from 57 per 100,000 in 1966 to 23 per 100,000 in 1989. The admission rate is three times greater for children 0-4 years of age but has decreased parallel with the total. The number of fires decreased from 370 to 270 per 100,000 in the last decade. In 1981, 1986, and 1989 15 Canadian units treated a constant 15% share of hospitalized burns, while nine units reported a constant 7% of burn patients who also required ventilation for associated smoke inhalation injury. These trends forecast a 2%-4% decrease in hospitalized burns per capita per year.