The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Burn Admissions at a Major Metropolitan Burn Center

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jesse A Codner, Emory University; Rafael De Ayala, Emory University; Rita M Gayed, Grady Memorial Hospital; Carey K Lamphier, Grady Memorial Hospital; Rohit Mittal, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-06-17
• Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Burn Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [e-mail].
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jbcr/irab106
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: JOURNAL OF BURN CARE & RESEARCH
• Volume: 42
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 1103
• End Page: 1109
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Awards Number UL1TR002378, TL1TR002382. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Critical Care Medicine; General & Internal Medicine; Dermatology; Science & Technology; Surgery
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Pharmacology; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on admission patterns and outcomes at a burn center is still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the epidemiology of burn admissions at a major metropolitan burn center. This retrospective cohort study examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected burn volumes and time to presentation. All burn admissions were included from January 20 to August 31 for the years 2020, 2019, and 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic group included admissions from January 20, 2020 to August 31, 2020 and was compared to the nonpandemic group comprised of admissions from January 20 to August 31 in 2018 and 2019. Subgroup analysis was performed according to meaningful dates during the COVID-19 pandemic including the first U.S. COVID-19 case, shelter-in-place, and state reopening orders. Admission volumes were 403 patients in the COVID-19 pandemic group compared to a mean of 429 patients in the nonpandemic group, which correlated to a 5.8% decrease in volume during the pandemic. The pandemic group showed an increase in time to presentation of 1 day (P <. 0001). Subgroup analysis demonstrated stable admission volumes and an increase in time to presentation of 1 day (P <. 0001) at each time point. During shelter-in-place orders, there were higher rates of second/third-degree burns and operative burns (94.7 vs 56.3% and 45.6 vs 27%, P <. 0001, P =. 013). During the pandemic, there were stable admission volumes, delayed time to admission, and an increase in operative burns during shelter-in-place orders. This reinforces the need to maintain appropriate burn center staffing and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.