Reducing the burn risk to elderly persons living in residential care

A 45-month retrospective analysis of 70 geriatric burn admissions to the Welsh Regional Burns and Plastics Unit highlighted 13 (18.6 per cent) injuries that occurred whilst the patient was in residential care (six residential care homes, seven nursing homes). The mean age overall was 83 years. The residential care patients had a TBSA of 12.5 per cent with a mortality of 46 per cent, whilst the group living in the community had a TBSA of 8.63 per cent with a mortality of 14 per cent. These results were not statistically comparable due to the unequal population grouping. The cause of injury in the residential group included five hot water scalds, six radiator contact burns, one flame burn and one flash burn. All 13 patients were found to have such severe dementia that they were unable to give a reliable history. In the majority of patients a lack of supervision was in part responsible. Some basic measures are presented that could reduce the incidence of accidental burn injury in this vulnerable group of the population.