Outpatient burn management and unnecessary referrals

This study aimed to determine the profile of burn patients presented in our polyclinic and evaluate the current status in comparison to the treatment methods of past series.

Burn patients presented in the polyclinic in a one-year period were included into this prospective study. The records of all patients were examined in respect of gender, age, burn percentage, burn location, cause of burn, degree of burn, dressing material, number of dressings, type of treatment, place of trauma, and month of trauma.

From a total of one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five patients presented, management was completed in the polyclinic for one thousand five hundred and eleven cases with a mean age of 27.9 years, with a female: male ratio of 0.88. While most patients were in the 18-64 age group, hot liquid burn was the leading cause in all age groups (p<0.05, p<0.001). Of the total patients, 89.6% were injured at home (p<0.001). The extremities were determined as the body area most often burned (p<0.001). While a single dressing was applied to 446 patients (29.5%), in 64.9% of cases polyclinic follow-up was terminated after the first 3 dressings. The mean number of dressings was greater in patients with deep dermal burns (mean 14.5, median 14, p<0.001).

A higher incidence of burns was found due to increasing urban populations compared to previous years. Currently, the majority of patients are referred to a healthcare facilty near their residences for follow-up after a few dressings. Unneccessary presentation at specialist centres increases the workload of these centres and creates a burden of wasted time and transport expense for the patients. The application of current burn treatment principles in primary and secondary health facilities will reduce the workload of reference centres.