Relationship Between Preexisting Functional Mobility Impairments and Burn Treatment Outcomes.

Area of Science:

• Trauma surgery
• Rehabilitation medicine
• Burn care research

Background:

• Patients with impaired mobility face challenges in avoiding burn hazards.
• Preexisting mobility impairments often correlate with comorbidities, complicating burn treatment.
• Limited research exists on the specific needs of burn patients with mobility limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the demographic attributes and clinical course of adult burn patients with preexisting mobility impairments.
• To identify unique treatment considerations and outcomes for this patient subgroup.
• To inform the development of specialized prevention and treatment protocols.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of electronic medical records.
• Analysis of adult inpatients (≥18 years) with documented mobility impairment admitted to a burn center from 2009-2019.
• Extraction and analysis of demographic data, treatment details, complications, and outcomes.

Main Results:

• 174 of 1520 (11%) adult burn admissions had documented preexisting functional mobility impairment.
• Average length of stay was 6.7 days (0.81 days/% TBSA), consistent with general burn populations.
• Demographics mirrored national data: predominantly male, Caucasian, and older (mean age 61.1 years).

Conclusions:

• Burn patients with mobility impairments experience similar injury patterns and lengths of stay compared to the general burn population.
• This population presents unique challenges requiring tailored approaches.
• Further research is needed to develop specialized prevention and treatment strategies for burn-injured patients with mobility impairments.