Risk factors for thromboembolism in burn patients admitted to the burn unit at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in burn patients. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study eliciting the risk factors in burn patients who developed thromboembolism. The study took place at the Adult Burn Unit, King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Charts of all patients admitted to the burn unit from January 2010 to December 2016 were reviewed. Only patients 16 years of age and older were included. The research team with a consultant plastic surgeon developed the data sheet. A total of 304 patient records met the inclusion criteria. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors for developing VTE. RESULTS: Out of the entire study group of 304 patients, the majority (88.8%) of the participants received prophylactic anticoagulation. Twelve patients (3.9%) developed VTE. All patients who developed VTE received prophylactic anticoagulation. Age, gender, body mass index, and degree of burn were not risk factors for VTE. However, electric burns were found to be an independent significant risk factor for developing VTE using a multivariate logistic regression. CONCLUSION: Conclusion: Electric burns were found to be the only independent significant risk factor of developing VTE.