Elevated Adverse Outcomes in Black Pediatric Burn Patients

Pediatric patients with burn injuries often experience various adverse outcomes. Recently, disparities affecting African American pediatric patients with burn injuries within US hospitals have emerged. These disparities contribute to elevated adverse outcomes such as increased mortality, pain, severe complications, and higher susceptibility to infections posing significant health risks. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between race and elevated adverse outcomes in pediatric patients with burn injuries. We hypothesized that African American pediatric patients with burn injuries would experience an increased risk of adverse outcomes. This retrospective cohort study used the TriNetX Research Database. Pediatric patients with burn injuries who were followed at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postburn injury were included. Patients were divided into 3 cohorts based on race: African American (cohort A), White (cohort B), and Asian (cohort C). Propensity score matching was used to create comparable cohorts based on age, gender, ethnicity, and burn severity. The primary outcomes included mortality, pain, hypertrophic scarring, inhalation injury, infection, and graft failure. Significant differences in outcomes were found between the cohorts. African American patients with burn injuries had elevated risk of mortality (RR = 1.218, P = .0057), hypertrophic scarring (RR = 1.139, P < .0001), inhalation injury (RR = 2.201, P = .0338), infection (RR = 1.330, P = .0065), graft failure (RR = 2.090, P = .0003), and were less likely to report pain (RR = 0.662, P = .0001). African American patients in the pediatric population are associated with elevated rates of adverse postburn injury outcomes. These findings highlight the need for enhanced burn injury treatment to minimize risks and improve patient outcomes.