Aging and burn: a five-year retrospective study in a major burn centre in Portugal

Aging is an important factor contributing decisively to the clinical outcome of burn patients. The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of patients admitted to a Burn Unit and determine the impact of aging on mortality. A retrospective analysis of patients successively admitted to a major burn centre in Portugal from 1/1/2012 to 31/12/2016 was conducted. They were divided into 2 groups: "elderly" (≥65 years) and "non-elderly" (<65 years). A total of 736 patients were included, 324 of them classified as elderly with a mean age of 78.12±7.14 years. Most of the patients in the elderly group were female (59.6%), in contrast to the non-elderly group (35%; p<0.001). The elderly patients had a higher mean length of hospital stay (20.14±18.46 days; p=0.011). Most of the burns were caused by fire (58.3%) and scalding (36.1%) and mainly after home accidents. Elderly patients showed a higher mean of burn severity index (7.26; p<0.001) and 6.8% needed an amputation. Mortality rate was significantly higher in the elderly group (11.7%; p=0.001). Age (p<0.001; OR=1.169), a higher total burn surface area (p<0.001; OR=1.081), full-thickness burns (p=0.005; OR=11.985) and the need for mechanical ventilation (p<0.001; OR=16.856) were associated with a higher mortality risk and reached statistical significance after multivariate analysis. The functional and vital prognosis of patients admitted to a burn centre is affected by multiple factors. This study showed that age, higher TBSA, full-thickness burns and need for mechanical ventilation seem to increase the risk of mortality.