The Impact of COVID-19 on Adult Burn Management in the United Kingdom: A Regional Center Experience

In this study, we aim to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on burns provision at an adult regional burn center. Two cohorts of patients were identified for comparison: one during the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020 and a comparator cohort in April 2019. There was a 30% decrease in the incidence of adult burns in 2020. The mean total body surface area (TBSA) was 1.8% and 4.3% in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Scald injuries were the commonest mechanism of burns in both cohorts. Depth of burns was deeper in 2019, with 17.6% of patients presenting with deep burns, compared with 9.6% in 2020. Eight percent of patients in 2019 required theater compared with zero patients in 2020. A similar percentage of patients were admitted in both cohorts. In 2019, admitted patients had an average inpatient stay of 0.57 days per TBSA. In 2020, the average stay per TBSA in all patients was 0.6 days and 1.5 days in survivors. In the lockdown period, 54% of patients were followed up by telemedicine. This difficult period has taught us how important a functioning healthcare system is and how we can be better prepared in the future.