[Hospital admissions for burns].
BACKGROUND
We wanted to investigate the incidence of burns and the volume of in-hospital burn treatment in Norway.


METHODS
Data for 1999 were compiled from hospital admissions as reported to the Norwegian Patient Register. Selection was based on ICD-10 codes for burns, though caustic injuries, reconstructive procedures, and patients discharged alive with length-of-stay less than 1 day were not included.


RESULTS
707 admissions requiring 9444 days in hospital were identified. The incidence of burns admitted to hospital was 13.5/100,000 inhabitants/year. Additionally, 102 admissions were coded as post-burn reconstructive cases. 50% all admissions and 40 % of all days in hospital for burns were in hospitals without a department of plastic surgery. 24 burn patients died before discharge; 50% of those who died were above 80 years of age. 29% of all stays included a code representing surgical procedures involving skin excision and grafting.


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of burns admitted to hospitals in 1999 was reduced by 20% compared to a 1977 survey. The number of reconstructive procedures was low; these options should probably be offered to more patients. We suggest that early transfer to a specialised burn centre should be considered for a somewhat larger proportion of patients.
Onarheim
Henning
H
Kirurgisk serviceklinikk, Haukeland Universitetssykkehus, Bergen. henning.onarheim@helse-bergen.no
Vindenes
Hallvard A
HA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data