João Vasco Santos1,2, Júlio Souza3,4, José Amarante5, Alberto Freitas3,4. 1. MEDCIDS - Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450, Porto, Portugal. jvasco.santos@gmail.com. 2. CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Porto, Portugal. jvasco.santos@gmail.com. 3. MEDCIDS - Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450, Porto, Portugal. 4. CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Porto, Portugal. 5. Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital São João, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Burns are a major public health concern, affecting mostly low- and middle-income countries. However, there is a lack of epidemiological studies on burns in these countries, particularly in Latin American countries. Our aim was to analyze nationwide demographic, epidemiological and economic characteristics of hospitalized burn patients in Brazil. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted including inpatients admitted with a diagnosis of burns (ICD-10:T20-T31) from all hospitals in Brazil from 2000 to 2014. We calculated hospitalization and in-hospital mortality rates. Length of stay (LoS), charges and premature mortality were also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 412,541 burn hospitalizations were found, with a hospitalization rate of 14.56 hospitalizations/100,000 inhabitants/year. This rate is decreasing since 2003, mostly due to the reduction among children and elderly. Children below 5 years old accounted for 24% of all admissions. In-hospital mortality rate was 8.1% and median LoS was 5 days. Mean hospitalization charge was 856 international dollars. Substantial regional discrepancies were found in several indicators. CONCLUSION: In this first Latin American nationwide study of burn patients, a decreasing trend of hospitalization rate and a low charge contrasted with a high in-hospital mortality rate. This latter indicator, associated with a low LoS, may raise concerns regarding the quality of healthcare. Important discrepancies were found between regions, which may indicate important differences in regard to healthcare access and risk of burns. Targeting effective prevention, improving healthcare quality and providing more widespread and accurate burn registry are recommended.
BACKGROUND: Burns are a major public health concern, affecting mostly low- and middle-income countries. However, there is a lack of epidemiological studies on burns in these countries, particularly in Latin American countries. Our aim was to analyze nationwide demographic, epidemiological and economic characteristics of hospitalized burn patients in Brazil. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted including inpatients admitted with a diagnosis of burns (ICD-10:T20-T31) from all hospitals in Brazil from 2000 to 2014. We calculated hospitalization and in-hospital mortality rates. Length of stay (LoS), charges and premature mortality were also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 412,541 burn hospitalizations were found, with a hospitalization rate of 14.56 hospitalizations/100,000 inhabitants/year. This rate is decreasing since 2003, mostly due to the reduction among children and elderly. Children below 5 years old accounted for 24% of all admissions. In-hospital mortality rate was 8.1% and median LoS was 5 days. Mean hospitalization charge was 856 international dollars. Substantial regional discrepancies were found in several indicators. CONCLUSION: In this first Latin American nationwide study of burn patients, a decreasing trend of hospitalization rate and a low charge contrasted with a high in-hospital mortality rate. This latter indicator, associated with a low LoS, may raise concerns regarding the quality of healthcare. Important discrepancies were found between regions, which may indicate important differences in regard to healthcare access and risk of burns. Targeting effective prevention, improving healthcare quality and providing more widespread and accurate burn registry are recommended.
Authors: M Jenda Hop; Suzanne Polinder; Cornelis H van der Vlies; Esther Middelkoop; Margriet E van Baar Journal: Wound Repair Regen Date: 2014 Jul-Aug Impact factor: 3.617
Authors: Christian Smolle; Janos Cambiaso-Daniel; Abigail A Forbes; Paul Wurzer; Gabriel Hundeshagen; Ludwik K Branski; Fredrik Huss; Lars-Peter Kamolz Journal: Burns Date: 2016-09-03 Impact factor: 2.744
Authors: Marco Fidel Sierra-Zúñiga; Oscar Eduardo Castro-Delgado; Juan Carlos Caicedo-Caicedo; Ángela María Merchán-Galvis; Mario Delgado-Noguera Journal: Burns Date: 2012-12-21 Impact factor: 2.744
Authors: Daan T Van Yperen; Esther M M Van Lieshout; Michael H J Verhofstad; Cornelis H Van der Vlies Journal: Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg Date: 2021-08-31 Impact factor: 2.374