98 A 10-year Retrospective Review of Older Adult Admissions at a Regional Burn Center

Abstract

Abstract Introduction A verified regional burn center conducted a 10-year retrospective review of older adult patients admitted to the burn service. The primary goal of the review was to examine trends in mechanisms of injury, demographics, and outcomes to inform burn prevention programming. Methods Admission data from 2009–2018 was retrieved from burn center databases and combined into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Older adults were defined as age 65 years and older. Patients admitted to the burn service for skin disorders or soft tissue infections were excluded. Patients with cutaneous burn injuries or inhalation only injuries were included. Results The total number of patients included was 697. Nearly a third of the patients were 65 to 69 years old, with incidence declining with each subsequent 5-year age group. Males accounted for 61.3% of admissions. Two thirds of the patients were White (67.6%). The other third consisted of Black (18.4%) and Hispanic (9.8%), Asian (1.9%) and Native American (0.14%) patients. Overall mortality was 14%. Mortality generally increased per 5-year age group: 65–69 (7.8%), 70–74 (10.6%), 75–79 (13.7%), 80–84 (20.6%), 85–89 (29.8%), 90–94 (24.2%), and 95–99 (42.9%). Baux scores ranged from 65 to 180. The highest Baux score that lived to discharge was 119. The average Baux score of the mortality group was 114 and the average of the lived group was 82. No patients with a Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) above 43% lived. Fire/flame burns accounted for 72.7%. Scald burns made up 19.9%, contact burns 3%, chemical burns 2.3% and electrical burns < 1%. Nearly a quarter (24.6%) of fire/flame burns were related to smoking on home oxygen therapy (HOT), which was also the overall most common mechanism at 17.8%. Other fire/flame mechanisms included housefires (21.2%), clothing catching on fire (16.9%), and gasoline-related injuries (11.7%). More than 70% of scald burns came from the three mechanisms: hot tap water, boiling water, and hot grease. For the mortality group, a third of patients had been injured in housefires (32.7%), followed by clothing catching on fire (17.4%) and HOT burns (12.2%). Conclusions Incidence rates decline with increasing age but mortality rates climb. Burn injuries with a TBSA greater than 40% are generally fatal in the older adult. Flame burns account for the majority of injuries with HOT and house fire injuries as the leading mechanisms. Scald burns were most often caused by hot tap water or boiling water. White older adults accounted for more than double the number of patients identified in all other races combined. Applicability of Research to Practice The demographics and mechanism of injury insight gained from this review can be utilized to inform prevention programming design in this region. Trends in mortality can help emphasize the seriousness of preventing older adult burn injuries and anticipate the mortality risk for older adults admitted to the burn center.