Burn Functional Outcomes - Ventilator Usage and Discharge Ambulation Status of Patients in a Burn Wound in-Patient Centre.

Anticipating functional outcomes of patients managed in an in-patient burn wound centre can help in advising patients and their families of prognosis as well as assist case managers in discharge planning. The records of 37 burn patients were reviewed; one patient expired and was removed from further analysis. Data were obtained regarding patient characteristics, types and locations of burns and other wounds, ventilator use, level of mobility at hospital discharge, and disposition; three patients lacked discharge ambulation status and were removed from the outcome comparison analysis. Of the 36 patients, 17 had thermal burns and nine (25%) had associated inhalation injuries. Thermal burn patients (p = 0.02), patients requiring ventilator support during their hospital stay (p = 0.04), and those with inhalation injuries (p = 0.04) were less likely to be ambulating independently or with assistance at discharge from the burn wound centre than other patients. This preliminary study suggests that patients with thermal burns and inhalation injuries and those requiring ventilator support were less likely to be ambulatory at hospital discharge. Further studies appear indicated.