Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of severe burns in adults: A retrospective study at a burn centre in Suzhou, China

Abstract

Severe burns lead to malformations and higher mortality and have long-term social consequences. We aimed to analyse the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical outcomes of severe burn patients hospitalized in a major burn centre in Eastern China. This study included severe burns patients hospitalized in our hospital from 2017 to 2022. We extracted all data from electronic medical records for retrospective analysis. Burn scoring systems were calculated for all patients. The median age of the patients was 49.00 years, with 62.13% of them aged between 30 and 59 years. Of the 375 adult patients, 256 were male and 119 were female. The major cause of burns was flame (46.1%), followed by explosion (35.2%). The median total body surface area was 40%. Sixty-three percent of patients suffered an inhalation injury and 125 patients (33.3%) developed complications during hospitalization. The average mortality was 5.3%. Higher mortality rates are associated with advanced age, flame burns, larger full-thickness burns area and total body surface area, inhalation injuries and combined burn complications. Severe burns often occur in middle-aged men. Governments and companies need to improve the safety of living and working environments. It is essential to develop treatment strategies based on risk factors for burn deaths and improve the quality of medical care.