Long term mortality in burn injury survivors: A matched cohort study

Survivors of burn injuries may be at risk of early death. This study describes the mortality of burn survivors in comparison with two matched cohorts.

This retrospective cohort study compared adults admitted with a burn injury from 2009 to 2019 with two matched cohorts; one from the general population and one with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Patients were excluded from analysis if they died during hospital admission or within 90 days of hospital discharge. Cox proportional hazards models were used to explore differences between cohorts and variables associated with mortality.

7,147 burns patients were matched with 6,810 pancreatitis patients and 28,184 individuals from the general population. Patients with a burn injury had an increased risk of death when compared to the general population (HR 2.46, 95 % CI 2.28,2.66, p < 0.001) and those with acute pancreatitis (HR 1.28, 95 % CI 1.17,1.40, p < 0.001). Socioeconomic deprivation, increasing comorbidity and specific comorbidities such as alcohol, drug abuse and depression were also associated with increased mortality.

Survivors of burn injury are at increased risk of mortality compared to individuals matched on sex, age and socioeconomic deprivation in both the general population and with a hospital admission due to acute pancreatitis.