Burn size and survival probability in paediatric patients in modern burn care: a prospective observational cohort study

Summary Background Patient survival after severe burn injury is largely determined by burn size. Modern developments in burn care have greatly improved survival and outcomes. However, no large analysis of outcomes in paediatric burn patients with present treatment regimens exists. This study was designed to identify the burn size associated with significant increases in morbidity and mortality in paediatric patients. Methods We undertook a single-centre prospective observational cohort study using clinical data for paediatric patients with burns of at least 30% of their total body surface area (TBSA). Patients were stratified by burn size in 10% increments, ranging from 30% to 100% TBSA, with a secondary assignment made according to the outcome of a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Statistical analysis was done with Student's t test, χ2 test, logistic regression, and ROC analysis, as appropriate, with significance set at p