title: Improving burn care and preventing burns by establishing a burn database in Ukraine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Burns are a challenge for trauma care and a contribution to the surgical burden. The former Soviet republic of Ukraine has a foundation for burn care; however data concerning burns in Ukraine has historically been scant. The objective of this paper was to compare a new burn database to identify problems and implement improvements in burn care and prevention in this country.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analyses of demographic and clinical data of burn patients including Tukey's post hoc test, analysis of variance, and chi square analyses, and Fisher's exact test were used. Data were compared to the American Burn Association (ABA) burn repository.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study included 1752 thermally injured patients treated in 20 hospitals including Specialized Burn Unit in Municipal Hospital #8 Lviv, Lviv province in Ukraine. Scald burns were the primary etiology of burns injuries (70%) and burns were more common among children less than five years of age (34%). Length of stay, mechanical ventilation use, infection rates, and morbidity increased with greater burn size. Mortality was significantly related to burn size, inhalation injury, age, and length of stay. Wound infections were associated with burn size and older age. Compared to ABA data, Ukrainian patients had double the length of stay and a higher rate of wound infections (16% vs. 2.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We created one of the first burn databases from a region of the former Soviet Union in an effort to bring attention to burn injury and improve burn care.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Department Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Gray/Jackson 409, Boston, MA 012114, United States. Electronic address: gfuzaylov@partners.org.
authors.forename: Gennadiy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fuzaylov
authors.affiliation: Resident in Anesthesia, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 012114, United States.
authors.forename: Sushila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murthy
authors.affiliation: Municipal Hospital #8, Lviv, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dunaev
authors.affiliation: Municipal Hospital #8, Lviv, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Vasyl
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Savchyn
authors.affiliation: Resident in Anesthesia, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 012114, United States.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Knittel
authors.affiliation: Doctors Collaborating to Help to Children, Corporation, Wayland, MA 01778, United States.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zabolotina
authors.affiliation: Shriners Hospital for Children, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
authors.forename: Maggie L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Dylewski
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 012114, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Driscoll
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001830:Body Surface Area; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058996:Quality Improvement; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015208:Smoke Inhalation Injury / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014455:Ukraine / Q000453:epidemiology; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Burn database; Burn prevention; Burns