title: Obese patients in a burn care unit: a major challenge.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obesity is an important predictor of mortality and morbidity during a hospital stay. There is very little data concerning the impact of the BMI on clinical outcomes in obese burn patients. The purpose of this study is to document the general epidemiological aspects of thermal injuries in an obese population and draw attention to topics relating to the management, rehabilitation and prognosis of burns in this emerging subpopulation of patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients >16 years of age admitted to the burn unit between January 2008 and December 2012 and fulfilling the burn center referral criteria were enrolled in the study. SPSS version 20 (SPSS GmbH Software, Illinois, USA) was employed for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven extreme obese patients (men:women, 6:5) had a mean BMI of 38kg/m(2). Their incidence in our study was 5.5%. The mean length of stay was 41.5 days, almost twice that of the non-obese. The presence of co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, or pulmonary disease, the problematic wound healing and the burn wound infection were significantly higher in the obese patients than in the non-obese. The mortality of obese burned patients was 36.4%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These facts indicate admission of these patients to a burn care unit for the best possible treatment although they might not always fulfill criteria for admission to burn intensive care unit. Burn centers must be also prepared in terms of special nursing equipment for obese patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery and Burn Care Unit, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Germany. Electronic address: liodaki_irene@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Eirini
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Liodaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery and Burn Care Unit, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Özge
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Senyaman
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Hand Surgery, Hospital Hornheide, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter Leonard
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Stollwerck
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery and Burn Care Unit, BG Trauma Center Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Möllmeier
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery and Burn Care Unit, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Mauss
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery and Burn Care Unit, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mailänder
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery and Burn Care Unit, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002053:Burn Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Burn care unit; Burns; Obesity; Obesity in burn care unit