Special features of burn injuries in elderly patients.

ABSTRACT

Types of burns and other aspects of burn injuries and case outcomes were assessed in a group of geriatric patients (> 60 years) and a younger group of patients (40-59 years). Between 1990 and 1999, 137 geriatric patients (47 [34%] males and 90 [66%] females) were admitted to the Burn Centre and Reconstructive Surgery Centre at University Hospital in Brno. We compared findings in this elderly group to those in 176 younger burn patients (126 [72%] males and 50 [28%] females) who were treated at the centre during the same time period. Age and concomitant chronic disease contribute to the high mortality and a higher frequency of complications in geriatric patients who suffer burn injuries. In this study, the complication rates for geriatrics during hospitalization (44% in males and 32% in females) and the elderly patients' mortality rates (26% in males and 17% in females) differed statistically from the corresponding rates in the younger patient group. It is important to know the special needs of elderly burn patients because this patient group is expected to grow in parallel with the rising average age of the Czech Republic's population.