The Burns Unit in Copenhagen: II. Material and Results, 1962–1966

Abstract

A 5–year material comprising 1326 in-patients from the Burns Unit, Kommunehospitalet. Copenhagen, is presented. This Unit admits all patients with burns from the municipality of Copenhagen (1136) as well as severe burn cases from other parts of Denmark (190). In addition, the Unit includes an out-patient clinic. The total annual number of patients has been fairly constant, while the proportion of patients from other parts of Denmark has increased considerably through the 5 years. The composition of the material in respect to sex, age, cause of burn, and place of accident is compared with the authors' previous paper on the “Total number of burn injuries in a Scandinavian population”. The marked differences between a material composed exclusively of in-patients and a material comprising also out-patients are discussed. Tables V and VI list the material by age, sex, extent of burn, and mortality in the various groups. Only 209 patients (one-sixth) had burns exceeding 10% of the body surface (Fig. 3). The depth of burn, and its relationship to the extent of burn are discussed. Under Discussion the present material is compared with previous Danish materials from 1884 up till now. The annual number of burn injuries, calculated per million of the population, has remained surprisingly constant since the turn of the century. On the other hand, there has been a considerable increase in the number of severe burn cases. The mortality has shown a characteristic fall in the course of the period. It was, moreover, possible to compare the dependence of mortality upon the extent of burn during the past 50 years within the municipality of Copenhagen (Table XI). Prior to 1936 all patients with burns exceeding 20% of body surface died; during the period 1938–1948 all patients with burns exceeding 40% died, while in the present material the mortality in this category is 55%. The causes of this decrease are discussed. After a tabular comparison with foreign materials (Table XII), it is emphasized that the presuppositions of assessment are accurate analysis of the composition of the various materials and a uniform method in submitting the materials.