title: A regional medical center's experience with burns of the elderly.
abstract: For a 10-year period, the cases of 236 patients aged 60 years old or older were evaluated with regard to mortality and length of hospital stay. Multiple variables were evaluated. Total mortality for the entire group was 41.9%. Mortality was adversely affected by increased age and the development of complications after admission. Larger burn size increased mortality when it was considered in association with the presence of inhalation problems sufficiently severe to require a ventilator. Mean length of stay for survivors was 34.04 days. Length of stay (LOS) was increased in association with larger burn size, preexisting medical problems, and the development of complications after admission. The increase in the number of elderly patients as part of the in-hospital burn population mandates evaluation of this growing group.
authors.affiliation: Columbia-Augusta Medical Center, Augusta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Still
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Belcher
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thiruvaiyaru
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002053:Burn Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis