Rates of hospitalisations and mortality of older adults admitted with burn injuries in Western Australian from 1983 to 2008.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate temporal trends in burn injury hospitalisations, mortality and hospital stay, for older adults with a burn-related hospitalisation.


METHODS
De-identified data of all incident burn hospitalisations for adults 60 years and older in Western Australia from 1983-2008 were analysed. Poisson regression analyses were used to estimate temporal trends in hospital admissions and mortality. Zero truncated negative binomial regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with hospital stay.


RESULTS
Between 1983 and 2008, hospitalisation rates increased for scalds (incident rate ratio (IRR) 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.02) and contact burns (IRR 1.05, 95% CI: 1.03-1.07) while a significant reduction in flame hospitalisation rates (IRR 0.93, 95% CI: 0.92-0.94) was estimated. No significant changes in length of stay or burn-related mortality were estimated.


CONCLUSIONS
Burn safety and prevention strategies that include first aid education need to be developed that target older adults living in their homes, to decrease their risk of sustaining burn injuries.
Centre for Population Health Research, Centre Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. j.duke@curtin.edu.au
Janine
J
Duke
Fiona
F
Wood
James
J
Semmens
Dale W
DW
Edgar
Katrina
K
Spilsbury
Alwena
A
Willis
Delia
D
Hendrie
Suzanne
S
Rea
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002056:Burns / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology