Short-Term Outcomes of Burn Patients: a Tertiary Hospital's Four-Year Experience

Introduction: Burns are the fourth cause of trauma worldwide, with a yearly death toll of 180,000. Multiple studies have investigated prognostic factors for the short-term and long-term evolution of burns, commonly citing age, percentage of total body surface area affected (BSA), percentage of third-degree burn, inhalation injury, surgery and overall depth of burn. The aim of our study is to review all cases managed in a tertiary emergency center and find factors associated with duration of hospital stay. Material and methods: The official reporting of burns from 2020-2023 "Bagdasar-Arseni" Emergency Clinical Hospital was reviewed, and clinical data regarding age, gender, burn severity and duration of hospitalisation, of Burns ICU time and mechanical ventilation was gathered and analysed using SPSS, version 26. Outcomes: A total of 337 cases were gathered, with a death rate of 14.54% (36.51% of inhalatory lesions are associated). 59.05% of patients were men, the majority (21.36%) were between 51 and 60 years old, most patients suffered burns on less than 10% of the total body area (50.45%). Most patients had third degree burns (60.2%), followed by second degree (39.2%). On average, patients were hospitalised for 16.5 days, of which approximately 8.5 were spent in the Burns ICU, and 3.3 days of mechanical ventilation were needed. The durations of hospitalisation, Burns ICU stay and mechanical ventilation were significantly higher in older patients, those with 31-40% BSA burns, subjects with third degree burns and those who died during the hospital stay. Conclusions: Of all managed cases, most patients were males, middle-aged, over half of them were suffering from small area burns and most of the burns were third degree. Regarding the duration of the required medical services, patients with severe burns (third degree) and those who did not survive required a longer duration of hospitalisation, more time in the Burns ICU and more time on mechanical ventilation.