Geriatric Burn Injuries: Prevalence, Management and Clinical Outcome

Abstract

Burns are a significant public health issue that result in more than 180 000 fatalities annually. For specialized burn care, the geriatric burn population is a sensitive and usually challenging group. Despite the fact that all age groups have shown advances in burn care, geriatrics still have worse survival rates. Burn severity, treatment, and outcomes are impacted in geriatrics because of the physiological differences between them and younger adult burn patients. The atrophic skin of the elderly results in deeper burns, or a higher ratio of full-thickness total body surface area compared to younger patients, but it also hinders the healing of both donor sites and burns. The purpose of this research is to review the available information about geriatric burn injuries: prevalence, management and clinical outcome. Elderly people are more susceptible to complications such pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and pulmonary edema. The morbidity and mortality seen in geriatric burn patients are also attributed to altered immunological and inflammatory response driven by age leading to increased hospital stays and more severe complications. Management of geriatric burn patients involves two concepts. the revolutionary theory of eschar excision and wound closure within the first week of hospitalization, and the conventional strategy of reducing physiologic stress by delaying surgery in the early post-burn stage while the development of effective fluid resuscitation protocols, which has most significantly boosted patient survival, is one of the pillars of modern burn care. The epidemiology of burn injuries in geriatrics is quite variable and demands further research.