Epidemiological and clinical characteristics and outcomes of inpatient burn injuries in older adults: Factors associated with mortality

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of epidemiological research on defining the epidemiological profile of burn injuries in older adults in different regions of Turkey. This study was designed to document the prevalent epidemiological pattern of burn injuries and factors that affect mortality in older adults admitted for treatment to the inpatient unit of Adana City Training and Research Hospital (ACTRH). METHODS: Demographic data, burn mechanism, presentation, percentage of total body surface area (TBSA) burn, abbreviated burn severity index (ABSI) and revised Baux scores, comorbidities, and treatment modalities burn patients aged 60 years and over admitted to our burn center January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, were evaluated retrospectively in this study. RESULTS: The medical records of 1754 inpatient burns over 4 years were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 104 (5.5%) hospitalized adult burn patients aged 60 years old or over and treated more than 24 h were included in the study. There were 38 males and 66 females with a male-to-female ratio of 1.00:2.05 in survivors and 1.25:1.00 in non-survivors. The mean age was 70.5±8.5 (60.0–92.0) for survivors and 72.7±8.4 (62.0–90.0) years for non-survivors. The mean (%) TBSA burned was 11.4±9.9% for survivors and 37.8±30.0% for non-survivors. Most of the burn injuries occurred at indoor locations (81%), caused by hot water scalds, representing more than one-third of all burns, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. Considering the age (p=0.329), the etiology (p=0.984) and place of burns (p=0.071), burned anatomical regions (p=0.817), and the surgical procedure (yes/no) (p=0.798), no statistical difference was observed between survivors and non-survivors. CONCLUSION: The more extended %TBSA burn, the inhalation injury, and deep burns were found to be significantly the most effective factors in mortality. Revised Baux (R Baux) and ABSI scores had a high value of predicting mortality.