Clinical decision-support for acute burn referral and triage at specialized centres – Contribution from routine and digital health tools

BACKGROUND: Specialized care is crucial for severe burn injuries whereas minor burns should be handled at point-of-care. Misdiagnosis is common which leads to overburdening the system and to a lack of treatment for others due to resources shortage. OBJECTIVES: The overarching aim was to evaluate four decision-support tools for diagnosis, referral, and triage of acute burns injuries in South Africa and Sweden: referral criteria, mortality prediction scores, image-based remote consultation and automated diagnosis. METHODS: Study I retrospectively assessed adherence to referral criteria of 1165 patients admitted to the paediatric burns centre of the Western Cape of South Africa. Study II assessed mortality prediction of 372 patients admitted to the adults burns centre by evaluating an existing score (ABSI), and by using logistic regression. In study III, an online survey was used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of burn experts’ image-based estimations using their smartphone or tablet. In study IV, two deep-learning algorithms were developed using 1105 acute burn images in order to identify the burn, and to classify burn depth. RESULTS: Adherence to referral criteria was of 93.4%, and the age and severity criteria were associated with patient care. In adults, the ABSI score was a good predictor of mortality which affected a fifth of the patients and which was associated with gender, burn size and referral status. Experts were able to diagnose burn size, and burn depth using handheld devices. Finally, both a wound identifier and a depth classifier algorithm could be developed with relatively high accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether the findings inform on the use of four tools along the care trajectory of patients with acute burns by assisting with the diagnosis, referral and triage from point-of-care to burns centres. This will assist with reducing inequities by improving access to the most appropriate care for patients.