Management of Elderly Burn Patients

Summary Burn injuries are the principal reasons accounting for emergency department admissions in elderly patients. Elderly patients over 65 years of age constitute between 13% and 20% of admissions to burn units, but have the highest death rate among the overall burn population. Among the number of burn deaths in 2002, the elderly group accounted for 30.3% of the all-age population in Taiwan. The risk of death from a major burn is associated with increased burn size, increased age, the presence of a full-thickness burn, the presence of inhalation injury, and female gender. Management of elderly burn patients remains a difficult challenge for clinicians from clinical, rehabilitative, social and ethical perspectives. Concerning the unique physiologic and metabolic changes in geriatric patients, it is imperative that a well-organized, protocol-driven approach to provide for proper medical care be considered. The current article will review the management of ongoing effective health prevention procedures, which necessitates focusing on both prevention and damage limitation with the aim of a reduction in thermal events in the elderly.