Abstract
Background
Burn injuries in geriatric patients are common and may have significant associated
morbidity and mortality. Most research has focused on the care of hospitalized patients
after admission to burn units. Little is known about the clinical characteristics
of geriatric burn victims who present to the emergency department (ED) and their ED
assessment and management.
Objective
Our aim was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of geriatric patients
presenting to the ED with burn injuries.
Methods
We performed a comprehensive retrospective chart review on all patients 60 years and
older with a burn injury presenting from January 2011 through September 2015 to a
large, urban, academic ED in a hospital with a 20-bed burn center.
Results
A total of 459 patients 60 years and older were treated for burn injuries during the
study period. Median age of burn patients was 71 years, 23.7% were 80 years and older,
and 56.6% were female. The most common burn types were hot water scalds (43.6%) and
flame burns (23.1%). Median burn size was 3% total body surface area (TBSA), 17.1%
had burns > 10% TBSA, and 7.8% of patients had inhalation injuries. After initial
evaluation, 46.4% of patients were discharged from the ED. Among patients discharged
from the ED, only 1.9% were re-admitted for any reason within 30 days. Of the patients
intubated in the ED, 7.1% were extubated during the first 2 days of admission, and
64.3% contracted ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Conclusions
Better understanding of ED care for geriatric burn injuries may identify areas in
which to improve emergency care for these vulnerable patients.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 27, 2022
Accepted:
January 25,
2022
Received in revised form:
January 5,
2022
Received:
March 15,
2021
Identification
Copyright
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