Dr Jason Diab^1,4, Mr Zachias Hopkins⁵, Ms Vanessa Diab⁴, Dr Jeon Cha², Prof Peter Maitz^1,3, Dr Andrea Issler-Fisher^1,3

¹Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Concord, Australia, ²Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, Australia, ³University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, ⁴University of Notre Dame, Sydney, Australia, ⁵Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

Abstract:

Introduction:
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the clinical presentations of burns and the provision of services. This study aims to describe and analyse patterns and trends in adult burns across New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory.

Methods:
A NSW statewide retrospective review was conducted from 2017 to 2022 for adult patients with burns. A comparative analysis was performed for the COVID-19 group (2020-2022) and control group between 2017 to 2019.

Results:
There were a total of 11,817 patients (7131 non-COVID vs 4686 COVID-19). The average age in the COVID-19 group was 1.2 years older than counterparts (40.6 vs 41.8, p<0.001). The 18 – 25 and 35 – 45 age groups experienced significantly lower proportions of presentations, whereas, the 76-85 years experienced significantly higher proportions. There was a significantly higher proportion of pressure injuries (0.1% vs 0.4%, p<0.001) and explosions (1.3% vs 0.2%) for the COVID-19 group compared to their counterparts. The mean TBSA% was 0.4% greater in the COVID-19 group compared to their counterparts (2.4 vs 2.8, p<0.001). There were significantly more operating sessions (0.2 vs 0.3, p<0.001). The mean length of stay was significantly greater by 0.8 days for the COVID-19 group compared to their counterparts (1.5 vs 2.3, p<0.001).

Conclusions:
Epidemiological changes were not greatly different to previous years from the impact of COVID-19. The shift in youth and elderly presentations and operative interventions reflects the holistic care of burns units working in a new landscape with an invigorated focus on telehealth and outpatient care.

Biography:

Jason is a SET registrar with an interest in burn epidemiology and prevention.