Is Burn Center Admission Necessary After Home Oxygen Ignition Injury?

Accidental ignition of home oxygen does not mandate emergent intubation, but due to the thermal component of the injury, patients are initially directed toward burn units. To identify potential benefit associated with admission to an American Burn Association (ABA)-verified burn center, the local registry was queried from January 2016 to May 2022. Charts were inspected for additional data related to the pattern of the patient's injuries, comorbidities, and hospital course. We compared patients admitted to the burn service with those primarily cared for by non-burn services. A total of 48 adult patients were admitted with burn injuries associated with home oxygen use. Of the 28 patients intubated on admission, 19 were managed by the burn service, and 9 by non-burn services. There were no differences in ventilator days, ICU days, total length of stay, or mortality. Of the 20 patients admitted without intubation, the burn service managed 7, and non-burn services managed 13. These 2 groups had no identified differences in ICU days, total length of stay, or mortality. This single-center review found no outcome differences between patients cared for in an ABA-verified burn center and those managed by non-burn services following home oxygen-related burn injury versus non-burn services for home oxygen ignition injury. In addition, most intubated patients required only short-term ventilation, suggesting intubation may often be avoidable in this population.