A review of the international Burn Injury Database (iBID) for England and Wales: descriptive analysis of burn injuries 2003–2011

Abstract

ObjectiveTo describe, for the first time, distribution (by geography, age, sex) and time trends in burn injury in England and Wales over the period that the international Burn Injury Database (iBID) has been in place.SettingData from the iBID for the years 2003–2011 were used for a retrospective descriptive observational study of specialised services workload and admissions in England and Wales.ParticipantsAll patients who have been visited or admitted to the burn injury specialised health service of England and Wales during the time period 2003–2011. Data cleaning was performed omitting patients with incomplete records (missingness never exceeded 5%).Outcome measuresWorkload, admissions, mortality, length of stay (LOS), geographical distribution, sex differences, age differences, total burn surface area, mechanism of Injury.ResultsDuring 2003–2011, 81 181 patients attended the specialised burn service for assessment and admission in England and Wales. Of these, 57 801 were admitted to the services. Males accounted for 63% of the total workload in specialised burn injury services, and females for 37%. The median (IQR) burn surface area was 1.5% (3.5%). The most frequent reason for burn injury was scald (38%). The median (IQR) age for all the referred workload for both genders was 21 (40). The overall mortality of the admitted patients was 1.51% and the median (IQR) LOS was 1 (5) days.ConclusionsMortality from burn injuries in England and Wales is decreasing in line with western world trends. There is an observed increase in admissions to burn services but that could be explained in various ways. These results are vital for service development and planning, as well as the development and monitoring of prevention strategies and for healthcare commissioning.

Descriptive epidemiological study of burn admissions to the Burns Intensive Care Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi-Ghana, 2009–2016

“…Many other studies have reported similar results, with reduction in burns morbidity [14][15][16][17]. This trend could be attributed to the increase in burn awareness through prevention campaigns.…”

“…With regards to employment status, the bulk (47%) of the patients were children (< 15 years) of which 67% were toddlers (≥ 3 years) and the rest were pupils (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). About 41% were employed, while 12%…”

“…There was, however, a female dominance for age ranges [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] years and 60-80 years. Female dominance in the stated age groups owes to the active involvement of females in these age ranges in cooking and other domestic activities with high burn risk [26].…”

Prevention of burn injuries in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

“…Several epidemiological reviews [63][64][65][66][67][68] have been conducted, but these and other current studies reflect only a fraction of the disease burden as many studies are hospital-not population-based. True population-based surveillance (as evidenced by the international Burn Injury Database in the United Kingdom and the National Burn Repositories of China, Australia and New Zealand, Iran, and the United States) is imperative [69,70].…”

Agents, mechanisms and clinical features of non-scald burns in children: A prospective UK study

“…We found the second most common type of non-scald burn, following contact burns, to be sunburn, in contrast to studies of adults and children where contact burns were second to flame burns. (12,26) This highlights the need for burn specific, as well age specific, prevention strategies. Sun protection strategies need to be targeted at children as, while the risk of melanoma as a consequence of sun exposure are similar throughout life, (27) early sun protection education instils lifelong behaviours.…”