AHRQ Stats: Treatment of Burn-Related Injuries

Between 1993 and 2013, rates of burn-related hospital stays decreased 35 percent while burn-related emergency department visits declined 17 percent. Infants had the highest rates of burn-related hospital stays and emergency department visits in 2013. (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #217: Burn-Related Hospital Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits, 2013.)

Burn-Related Hospital Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits, 2013

Kimberly W. McDermott, Ph.D., Audrey J. Weiss, Ph.D., and Anne Elixhauser, Ph.D.

Highlights

The rate of burn-related inpatient stays decreased 34.6 percent between 1993 and 2013. The rate of burn-related emergency department (ED) visits (not admitted to the same hospital) decreased 17.2 percent between 2006 and 2013.

Infants had the highest rates of burn-related inpatient stays and ED visits (29.6 and 208.9 per 100,000 population, respectively). Males, individuals living in ZIP Codes with low median family income, and those living in rural areas also had relatively high rates of burn-related inpatient stays and ED visits.

Lower limb was the most common burn site associated with burn-related inpatient stays (38.5 percent), and wrist and hand was the most common burn site associated with burn-related ED visits (38.5 percent).

Second-degree was the most common burn severity reported for both burn-related inpatient stays (52.9 percent) and ED visits (58.4 percent).

The most common causes of burn-related inpatient stays and ED visits were accidents caused by hot liquids and steam, or other hot substances.

Skin graft was the most common procedure associated with burn-related inpatient stays. Wound debridement was the most common procedure associated with burn-related ED visits.

On average, burn-related inpatient stays were about twice as long and costly as non-burn-related stays.

Introduction

Burns are tissue damage caused by heat, sunlight, electricity, chemicals, or nuclear radiation.¹ In the United States approximately 9,000 people died from burn-related injuries in the mid-1970s.² At that time, burns covering more than 20 percent of a patient's body were nearly always fatal.³ Forty years later, the number of burn-related deaths has declined by more than 50 percent and patients with burns covering up to 90 percent of their bodies can survive with appropriate treatment.⁴

Although treatment options and prognoses for burn-related injuries have improved dramatically, the frequency of burn-related injuries and the cost of treatment remain high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 486,000 patients received emergency medical treatment for burns in 2011.⁵ Estimated medical costs associated with burn-related injuries in 2010 totaled approximately $1.5 billion, with another nearly $5 billion in costs associated with lost work.⁶

This Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Statistical Brief updates a previously published Brief⁷ and presents data on burn-related hospital inpatient stays and emergency department (ED) visits. Inpatient stays are based on all-listed diagnoses. ED visits are also based on all-listed diagnoses and comprise patients who were treated in the ED and then released from the ED, transferred to another hospital or health facility, or died in the ED. Patients who were treated in the ED and then admitted to the same hospital for inpatient services are included under statistics reported for inpatient stays. This Statistical Brief provides information on the following:

Trends in the population rate of burn-related inpatient stays and ED visits
Population rates for burn-related inpatient stays and ED visits in 2013 for select patient characteristics
Distributions of burn-related inpatient stays and ED visits in 2013 by burn site and severity
Most common causes and procedures associated with burn-related inpatient stays and ED visits in 2013
Utilization characteristics of burn-related inpatient stays in 2013

Differences in estimates of 10 percent or greater are noted in the text.

Findings

Trends in burn-related hospital inpatient stays and ED visits
Figure 1 provides information on the trend in the population rate of hospital inpatient stays involving burns from 1993 through 2013.