Estimation of Risk Factors for Delayed Healing in Burn Patients

Abstract

Introduction: The care for the patient with delayed healing starts from the optimization of their care. Reversing such condition requires knowledge of the risk factors. The national and international literature describes local factors related to the injury and general factors related to the patient’s general condition.

Objective: To estimate the risk factors for delayed healing in burn patients.

Methods: An analytical case-control study was carried out with burn patients admitted to the caumatology service at Hospital Universitario Manuel Ascunce Domenech in the period from 2017 to 2021. The study population consisted of 267 patients. Odds ratio and confidence interval were calculated.

Results: The development of delayed healing was three and a half times more likely in burn patients aged 45 years or over (odds ratio: 3.591). In addition, it was nine times more likely for associated chronic diseases, up to six times in nonaccidental burns, 163 times in local complications, and 89 times in systemic complications.

Conclusions: The identified risk factors for delayed healing in burn patients were the following: age 45 years or over, presence of comorbidity, direct fire as causative agent, nonaccidental way of production, presence of more than six affected anatomical areas, hypodermic burn, burn extension of 20 % or over on the burned body surface, injury contact pressure, the Cuban index of prognostic vital risk, as well as the local or the systemic complications.