Browsing by Subject "Burn Units"
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Item Epidemiology of Burns Treated by Yekatit 12 Burn Unit in 2016(2017-04-03) Mehta, Kajal Anil; Abdelnaby, Abier; Chang, Mary; Phelan, HerbBACKGROUND: Burns contribute significantly to the burden of disease, particularly in low and middle-income countries. There is a paucity of data regarding the epidemiology of burns in Ethiopia, and about burn injuries in Ethiopian urban settings. This study describes the epidemiology of burn injury admissions in a public tertiary care hospital burn unit. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was performed and the hospital records of the burn unit admissions, operating room logs and collected data sheets were utilized. All patients treated on an inpatient basis by the Yekatit 12 Hospital Burn Unit team between December 2015 and December 2016 were included in the study. RESULTS: A total of 184 burn hospitalizations were registered during this time period. Of the registered patients, 42.4% were female and 57.1% were male. The average age of the patients was 16.4 year old; 51.1% of patients were pediatric (<14 years old) with the average pediatric patient age of 4.36 years and average adult patient age of 29.4 years. Flame burns accounted for 35.8% of burns, scald 35.1%, electrical 27.8% and others <0.01%. The gender ratio was significantly dependent on the cause of burn (X2(10, N=184) = 35.9, p<0.0001), with males more likely to sustain electrical and scald burns (10.25 and 1.19 times the rate seen in females). The average total body surface area (TBSA) burned as calculated on the Lund-Browder scale, was 19.8% (n=77, SD=18.2). In admitted patients, 52.7% underwent operative treatment, with most frequent operation being split-thickness skin graft (STSG). The mortality rate was 13.3% (n=105). CONCLUSION: This is the most recent epidemiological study of burn patients in an urban setting in the last 15 years in Ethiopia. This research highlights the current picture of burn injuries in Addis Ababa. Many of the results are consistent with the literature of scald and flame burns being the predominant etiology, and a mortality rate of 13.3%. Though this study is limited by incomplete data, the proportion of burns due to electrical burns was higher than has been previously demonstrated, and thus warrants further study.Item [News](1977-10-17) Harrell, AnnItem Weight Changes and Weight Measurements in Hospitalized Burn Patients(2017-01-17) Mendez-Romero, Denisse; Wolf, Steven E.; Clark, Audra T.; Phelan, Herb; Arnoldo, BrettINTRODUCTION: Burns are associated with significant changes in body weight due to resuscitation volumes leading to increased weight and a hypermetabolic state and prolonged bed rest resulting in wasting of lean body mass and weight loss. The actual weight changes and frequency of weight measurements throughout hospitalization have not been well described across time. The purpose of this study was to describe these in more detail. METHODS: A review was conducted of 232 thermally injured patients hospitalized in a large, ABA-verified burn center from February 2016 to September 2016. Patients were seen daily by a nutritionist and received tube or oral feeding as appropriate. Demographics, hospital length of stay, and all weight measurements were collected. RESULTS: Over 8 months, 232 burn patients were admitted. The mean (±SD) age was 33 ± 24 years, median TBSA was 7% (IQR 13-3) and men were 67.37% of the sample. Patients had a 4.92% ± 1.40% (mean ± SEM) increase in weight from baseline at hospital day 7(n=40). The mean weight changes of hospitalized patients were -1.57% ± 4.46% at 30 days (n=13), -6.66% ± 4.47% at 45 days (n=10), -13.83% ± 3.74% at 60 days (n=7), and -23.93% ± 12.26% at 130 days (n=2). The maximum length of stay was 205 days and this subject had a weight loss of 33.33% from baseline. Composite data of mean change of weight from baseline over time was plotted with an R2 value of 0.6 for both linear and third order regression. Patients with a length of stay between 7 to 14 days (n=49), 15 to 30 days (n=15), 31 to 60 days (n=9) and more than 60 days (n=9) had a daily weight recorded only 7.4%, 20.6%, 35.5% and 47% of their inpatient days, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Burn patients demonstrate an increase in body weight within the first week of hospitalization likely related to resuscitation followed by a consistent decline. Patients with stays greater than one month have a decline in weight below their baseline and can lose as much as a third of their body mass even in the setting of nutritional support and rehabilitation efforts. Additionally, these data show that weight is measured more often as length of stay increases. Weight is often used as a marker of nutritional status, although this may not be appropriate in the setting of large fluid shifts and obesity. Additionally, patients might be losing muscle mass in favor of body fat. It is important to recognize long-term weight trends in the burn population, but further investigation is needed regarding the predictors of significant weight loss and associated outcomes.