Burns in the elderly: a nationwide study on management and clinical outcomes

Background: In modern-day burn care, advanced age remains an important predictor for mortality among burn victims. In this study, we compared the complete treatment trajectory (including prehospital and surgical treatment) and the outcomes between an elderly burn population and a younger adult burn population. Methods: In this nationwide study, data from the Dutch Burn Repository were used. This is a uniform national registration for Dutch specialized burn care. All adult patients that were admitted to one of the three Dutch burn centres from the period 2009 to 2015 were included in the analysis. Burn patients were considered as elderly when ≥65 years of age, and were then further subdivided into three age categories: 65–74, 75–85 and 85+ years. Younger adults in the age category 18–64 years were used as the reference group. Surgical management was studied