Miss Marnie Macfie¹, Ms Anita Plaza¹, Miss Catherine Sharpe¹, Mrs Charlotte Kiemann¹, Miss Lauren Davies¹, Mrs Michelle Cottrell¹

¹Royal Brisbane And Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia

Abstract:

Outpatient (OPD) physiotherapy is essential throughout burn scar maturation to improve function and quality of life.  Due to limited data in the literature, the aim of this audit was to evaluate the “standard” episode of care for patients managed through the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Physiotherapy OPD service.

Methods: A retrospective audit was conducted of all patients discharged from the RBWH Adult Burns Centre and referred to the RBWH Physiotherapy OPD Service from June to November 2020. Demographics, injury characteristics and service outcomes were collected and analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results: Of the 230 patients discharged, 35 (15%) were referred to the RBWH Burn OPD Physiotherapy service, 23 (10%) to other physiotherapy services and 151 (66%) monitored by physiotherapy at multidisciplinary burn clinics only.  For those referred to the RBWH service, 10 (29%) had in-person appointments only, 18 (51%) had telehealth appointments only and 7 (20%) had a combination of services.  Areas frequently managed included hand/wrist (60%) and ankle/foot (43%).  Mean burn size for those requiring in-person appointments was 38%TBSA (range 1-80%) and 5.4% (range 0.5-18%) for those requiring telehealth only.  The median length of OPD management post-injury was 194 days (in-person) and 53 days (telehealth).  69% of patients were discharged when self-managing/achieving functional goals but only 8% had outcome measures other than ROM/strength recorded.

Conclusion: The RBWH OPD Physiotherapy journey is prolonged but remains within the burn scar maturation phase.  Future studies are required, with inclusion of appropriate outcome measures, to further evaluate OPD burn physiotherapy management.

Key Words: Burn, Physiotherapy, Outpatient

Biography:

Marnie is a generalist physio with a keen interest in burns management in both the inpatient and outpatient settings at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.