Trends and risk factors for mortality in elderly burns patients: A retrospective review

Introduction: The elderly experience higher mortality rates and poorer outcomes compared to younger burn survivors with similar injuries.Methods: This epidemiological study reviewed records of all admitted elderly burn patients collected from five burns facilities in Israel between 1997-2016. Collected data was limited to the population aged 20+, focused on the population aged 60+.Results: Mortality rates for elderly patients increased with TBSA and increases with age. Regression analyses demonstrated a decrease in mortality of 2.9% (p = 0.013) per 5 years, an overall decrease of 11.6% over the 20-year study period, with the decline more significant forolder age groups. This decrease in mortality was much larger than that observed for all burnspatients over this period. The most common cause of injury in the elderly population was fire,with mortality rate highest for this cause. There was no effect of gender on mortality rate.Mortality increased when smoke inhalation was present for TBSAConclusion: This study identified key factors that impact mortality and demonstrated a large decrease in mortality in the elderly patients over the study period