Recent outcomes in the treatment of burn injury in the United States: a report from the American Burn Association Patient Registry

Abstract

This article reports outcomes of 6417 patients treated during 1991-1993 in 28 burn centers. Data were gathered by use of the ABA's computerized patient registry. Mean burn size was 14.1% total body surface area. There were 6087 survivors (95.9%); mortality rate among patients with inhalation injury was 29.4%. A probit analysis was used to construct a series of survival curves; the LA50 (which is defined as the burn size lethal to 50% of patients) for young adults was 81% total body surface area. Mean length of hospital stay was 13.5 days. Total mean charges were $39,533, with resource utilization related to clinical comorbidity factors and length of stay. No reliable method could be found to predict survival on admission. Mean charges for the most intensive diagnosis-related group (No. 472) exceeded $198,000 per patient. Pooled data and related summary statistics used in this study have some limitations, which are discussed. Additional accurate information regarding the outcomes of thermal injury treatment is needed by the burn care community.