A profile of adult patients with major burns admitted to a Level 1 Trauma Centre and their functional outcomes at discharge: A retrospective review.
Irene K Angelou, Heleen van Aswegen, Moira Wilson and 1 others
PMID 35169650WHAT IT FOUND
Most adult burn survivors in this private South African centre regained independent mobility by discharge, but joint stiffness and weak muscle strength persisted.
No patient factors predicted who would remain dependent, so clinicians cannot assume severity scores alone will guide rehabilitation intensity.
Key findings
01At hospital discharge, 53.4% of patients were independently mobile and 28.8% could climb stairs independently.
02Despite receiving standard physiotherapy, small or no improvements in joint range of motion were recorded at transfer from ICU and prior to discharge.
03No demographic or clinical variable significantly predicted non-independent function at hospital discharge.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Retrospective design limits control over data quality and completeness. Single-centre study in a private hospital may not reflect public sector outcomes. Very few female patients (12.3%) were included. No pre-morbid functional data was available to compare discharge status against baseline. Incomplete data was managed by carrying forward the last observation, which may overestimate stability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of the Witwatersrand.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of significant predictors as evidence that burn severity does not affect function. The study was underpowered to detect small differences, and the exclusion of patients who died in hospital creates survivor bias, meaning the results only apply to those who lived long enough to be discharged.