Characteristics of patients with injury secondary to smoking on home oxygen therapy transferred intubated to a burn center.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of patients who sustained burn and ostensible inhalation injuries while on home oxygen therapy with those suffering equivalent injuries via other mechanisms.


METHODS
Between December 2002 and January 2006, 109 burn patients were transferred to our center intubated. Their charts were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who sustained injuries while on home oxygen therapy were age and total body surface area matched to patients with inhalation and burn injuries secondary to other mechanisms.


RESULTS
Fourteen of 109 patients were injured while smoking on home oxygen therapy (15.26%). All 14 had COPD. Mean age was 63 years (range 53 to 77 years) and average total body surface area burned was 4% (range 0% to 10%). Charges for the 14 hospitalizations totaled $1,097,860 ($8,003 to $284,835; mean $78,418 per admission). Average time to extubation was 5.7 ± 10.2 days and average length of stay was 11.4 ± 15.2 days. No significant differences in the average time to extubation, length of stay, cost of hospitalization, or clinical signs of inhalation injury (ie, soot and edema in the pharynx) were noted between our series and the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
Injury secondary to smoking on home oxygen therapy is a perennial problem, and guidelines for prescribing home oxygen therapy for smokers should be reassessed. Despite underlying lung disease, patients in our series did as well as patients without COPD who sustained similar injuries.
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT.
Salam
S
Al Kassis
Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, CT.
Alisa
A
Savetamal
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT.
Roland
R
Assi
Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, CT.
Roselle E
RE
Crombie
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT.
Rahmat
R
Ali
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT.
Craig
C
Moores
New York University, New York, NY.
Amanda
A
Najjar
Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, CT.
Tawnya
T
Hansen
Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, CT.
Tabitha
T
Ku
Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, CT. Electronic address: john_schulz@siuh.edu.
John T
JT
Schulz
D000368:Aged; D002053:Burn Units; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D010360:Patient Transfer; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015208:Smoke Inhalation Injury / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*