Tatar Raluca, Enescu Dan Mircea, Nacea Doina Iulia, Nițescu Gabriela Viorela, Lescaie Andreea, Pertea Mihaela, Mitrache Petruța, Diaconu Laura Sorina
Department of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery, "Grigore Alexandrescu" Clinical Emergency Hospital for Children, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania.
Department of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery and Burns, "Grigore Alexandrescu" Clinical Emergency Hospital for Children, 010621 Bucharest, Romania.
Life (Basel). 2025 Mar 26;15(4):544. doi: 10.3390/life15040544.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge global impact on healthcare systems that affected all medical services, including burn care facilities. This paper analyzes the effects of this medical crisis on pediatric burn injuries by comparing patient data from 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic) at a national burn center in Romania. The study included, overall, 676 patients, out of which 412 were admitted in 2019. In 2020, the admissions decreased by 35.9% (n = 264). However, moderate and severe burns remained constant and burn severity increased in 2020, with a larger total body surface area affected on average. Surgical management rates and hospital stay duration increased in 2020 from 18% to 39% and from 7 days to 11 days, respectively. Admissions to the intensive care unit and mortality rates remained similar between 2019 and 2020. Scalds were the leading cause of burns in both years; however, in 2020, they affected a larger total body surface area. Contact burns decreased significantly in 2020 from 10.9% to 5.2%, likely due to reduced outdoor activities. The concomitant presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and burn injuries did not have a negative impact on complication rates, surgical management approaches, or duration of hospitalization. These findings emphasize the need to preserve dedicated burn care human and material resources during global health crises in order to offer access to the best quality of care, thus ensuring optimal patient outcomes, regardless of fluctuations in admission rates.
新冠疫情对医疗系统产生了巨大的全球影响，波及所有医疗服务，包括烧伤护理机构。本文通过比较罗马尼亚一家国家烧伤中心2019年（疫情前）和2020年（疫情期间）的患者数据，分析了这场医疗危机对儿童烧伤的影响。该研究总共纳入了676名患者，其中2019年收治412名。2020年，入院人数减少了35.9%（n = 264）。然而，中度和重度烧伤病例数保持不变，且2020年烧伤严重程度有所增加，平均受影响的体表面积更大。2020年手术治疗率和住院时间分别从18%增至39%，从7天增至11天。2019年和2020年重症监护病房收治率和死亡率保持相似。烫伤在这两年都是烧伤的主要原因；然而，2020年烫伤影响的体表面积更大。2020年接触性烧伤从10.9%显著降至5.2%，可能是由于户外活动减少所致。SARS-CoV-2感染与烧伤同时存在对并发症发生率、手术治疗方法或住院时间并无负面影响。这些研究结果强调，在全球卫生危机期间需要保留专门的烧伤护理人力和物力资源，以便提供优质护理，从而确保患者获得最佳治疗效果，而不论入院率如何波动。
