Most Prominent Factors Contributing to Burn Injury-Related Amputations: An Analysis of a Referral Burn Center

Amputations are uncommon surgical procedures in patients with severe burn injuries. However, these patients often face extreme physical and psychological challenges that result in social stigmatization and inadequate rehabilitation facilities. A retrospective cohort study was designed for the patients admitted to the Burn Center of Adana City Training and Research Hospital (ACTRH). During the study period, 2007 patients aged 0.5 to 92 years were hospitalized at the burn center from January 2016 to June 2020. The incidence of amputation observed among inpatient burn injuries regardless of the etiology was 1.9%, and 87.2% were male. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to detect the most prominent factors contributing to burn-related amputations. Considering the leading factors of amputations in patients with severe burns, the cause of burns appears to be one of the main factors in past research, and electrical burns were prominent in this context. Also, "the fire-flame-related burns," "full-thickness burns," "the presence of infection," "male gender," "patients within the 18 to 64 age group," and "the burns involved 10% to < 50% of total body surface area (TBSA)" were found to be the most prominent factors of amputations among patients having severe burns. Although they are rare, amputations related to burns commonly cause a decrease in quality of life. Therefore, besides increasing occupational health and safety methods for these risk groups, especially for adults of working age; also, it is essential to increase the importance and awareness of the precautions to be taken in daily life.