99 Barriers of Follow Up within the Burn and Wound Population.

Abstract

Introduction Access to quality health care services is important for acute burn care, but comprehensive burn care goes beyond acute hospitalization. Follow up is an essential part of recovery, where providers can assess late effects of burn and help the patients with community re-integration, injury rehabilitation, and mental health. However, not all patients return for follow up after burn injury due to barriers in care and patient characteristics. We hypothesized that patients with neuropsychiatric comorbidities and 0–10% of total body surface (TBSA%) are more likely to be lost at follow up compared to patients with no neuropsychiatric comorbidities and higher TBSA. Methods A retrospective analysis was completed on patients that were admitted to a verified Burn Center from January 2016 to June 2019. Patients that were under 18 years of age and patients that died prior to discharge were excluded. Patient characteristics included were age, gender, TBSA, discharge location, payer, and comorbidities. Univariate analysis was completed using Tableau and multiple logistic regression analysis using Stata. Neuropsychiatric comorbidities were defined as dementia, alcoholism, major psychiatric disease, and drug dependence. Lost to follow up was defined as no follow up in clinic after inpatient discharge date within 1 month. Results Of 562 patients, 35.94% (n=202) were female and 65.12% (n=366) were Caucasian followed by Asian 13.7% (n=77) and Other Race 13.7% (n=77). Of the 562 patients, 157 (27.95%) were lost to follow up. After adjusting for insurance type, race, and medical comorbidities, patients with neuropsychiatric comorbidities had double the risk (OR 2.052; 1.377 - 3.057 p< 0.001) to be lost at follow up compared with those that did not have neuropsychiatric disorders. Homelessness was collinear with neuropsychiatric comorbidities suggesting an association. Patients with a TBSA >20% (n=37) were 3 times more likely to be lost at follow up in comparison with patients with 0–10% TBSA. (OR 2.921; 1.455–5.861 p< 0.003). Race, medical comorbidities, and insurance status had no significant impact on follow up. Conclusions Patients with dementia, alcoholism, major psychiatric disease, and drug dependence were more likely to be lost at follow up. Contrary to intuition, patients with burns >20% TBSA were also less likely to follow-up. Additional research is needed to better identify how psychosocial factors affect follow up in our burn patients and how to address those barriers. By focusing on our population and their needs, we can adjust our practices to make sure that we are providing holistic burn care.