A regional medical center's experience with burns of the elderly

Joseph M. Still, Edward J. Law, Keith Belcher, Dharma Thiruvaiyaru

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

For a 10-year period, the cases of 236 patients aged 60 years old or older were evaluated with regard to mortality and length of hospital stay. Multiple variables were evaluated. Total mortality for the entire group was 41.9%. Mortality was adversely affected by increased age and the development of complications after admission. Larger burn size increased mortality when it was considered in association with the presence of inhalation problems sufficiently severe to require a ventilator. Mean length of stay for survivors was 34.04 days. Length of stay (LOS) was increased in association with larger burn size, preexisting medical problems, and the development of complications after admission. The increase in the number of elderly patients as part of the in-hospital burn population mandates evaluation of this growing group.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)218-223
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation
Volume20
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1999

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • General Nursing
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Rehabilitation
  • General Health Professions

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