Frailty: an independent predictor of burns mortality following in-patient admission

In the context of an aging developed world population [1], burn care teams can expect to manage increasing numbers of frail elderly patients with complex medical and social needs [2,3]. It is widely accepted that elderly patients tend to have a higher mortality risk and poorer outcome than younger patients with similar burn injuries, particularly as burn size and depth increases [4 –11]. When caring for elderly patients, medical teams are not only faced with the clinical challenge of providing the highest standards of burn care in the context of multiple medical comorbidities but also face the ethical challenge of separating patients that are likely to benefit from aggressiv e surgical management and intensive care from those where such treatment is likely to be futile and best supportive care is most appropriate [9,12].
Source: Burns : Journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries - Category: Cosmetic Surgery Authors: Source Type: research