Burn injuries at a university hospital in Saudi Arabia: an audit and concept of total quality management, 1997-2003.

This is the first time the concept of total quality management in burn injuries is proposed. This is a prospective study done in 1997-2003. All burn admissions to King Fahd Hospital of the University, Division of Plastic Surgery, were included. Total number of cases is 240. Male patients constituted 141 (59.2%); female patients, 97 (40.8%), and 2 cases were not specified in forms. There were 114 children (0-18 years, 50.2%) and 113 adults (19-99 years, 49.8%). The source of admission was mainly emergency room (197, 82%) followed by outpatient department (27, 11.3%), and other hospitals in 16 (6.7%). The type of burn was mainly scald (16.3%), then flame (6.98%), electrical (6.5%), chemical (2.8%), friction (0.47%), and not specified in 33% of recorded cases. The most encountered body percentage burn was 1% to 10% and 11% to 20% in 36.7% and 25.9% of cases, respectively. Sixty-six cases (28.2%) were operated on. The reason for nonoperation was not indicated in 78.5% and refusal in 1.8%. The most frequent operation was split-thickness skin grafting followed by tangential excision + split-thickness skin grafting. Operations took mostly about 2 hours (53.8%). The region operated on was mainly upper limbs (42.6%), then head and neck (27.7%). The affected body part in electrical burns was upper limb, then the head. Preoperative photography was done in 17% and post operatively in 9.4% of recorded cases. Consultations were needed in 39.4% and responded to in 48 hours in 98.2% of them. Discharge was home in 80.9%, against medical advice in 7.5%, died in 7%, transferred in 4%, and other ward in 0.5%. No significant difference was observed between pediatric age groups and adults (>18 years old), also for electrical versus nonelectrical burns in relation to total hospital stay. Similar observations were made among various age groups with respect to total hospital stay. The clinicopathologic typing relation to age groups, nationality, and sex was found significant. Recommendations and the newly proposed zone of practice and concept of total quality management in burn injuries are included.