Compiled by researchers from the Centre for Investigation in the Health Technologies and Systems (CINTESIS), which is based at the Medical College of Porto University, the study assessed the clinical and economic impact of burns in Portugal.
Based on their findings, among the conclusions is the recommendation of a Paediatric Burns Unit in Porto.
The study was based on hospital admissions and releases between 2000 and 2013.
During the period in question more than 26,000 people were hospitalised for burns, as a primary or secondary diagnosis, an incidence of 18.9 per every 100,000 inhabitants, or an average of 1,889 burns admissions per year.
More than half of all cases were caused by hot liquids or objects, the research established, followed by flames or fire, electrical burns and chemical burns.
The team further calculated that, with regard to economic costs relating to burns victims, in 2013 alone more than €12 million was spent on patients, or an average of €8,032 per patient.
The study found that men were more prone to these types of accidents, and while burns rates in Portugal have been gradually decreasing over the years, national figures in this country are still higher than in other European countries for which the researchers recommended “preventative and curative measures
by political decision-
makers.”
“In the 1990s the hospitalisation rate for burns was 21.4 per every 100,000 inhabitants, per year. In 2013 that number dropped to 15.4 per every 100,000 inhabitants, per year. This reduction is important as there has been an apparent stabilisation since 2009”, explained João Vasco Santos, a doctor and researcher for CINTESIS.
According to the specialist, “it was mainly among the young that progress was most evident.”
Even so, the hospitalisation rate among children aged five or under suffering burns is 75.5 per every 100,000 inhabitants per year, “which is five times higher than the rest of the population.”
Within that context the research team looked into the needs of the National Health System, bearing in mind findings from the study based on all children aged up to 16, who were hospitalised between 2009 and 2013 due to burns, or 1,155 children in total.
“The results show that, ideally, in Portugal, there should be 13 beds available for child burns victims. However, as a large number of burns patients are not transferred to
specialist units, within
the current scenario,
the availability of five to seven beds would be enough to guarantee children received the most appropriate care given by specialist teams in properly kitted-out units”, the study’s authors reason.
The researchers also looked into the distribution of paediatric burns patients and concluded that most cases are found in the north of Portugal.
For that reason, the researches indicated Porto would be the ideal location for the creation of a Paediatric Burns Unit in Portugal.
Meanwhile the São João do Porto Hospital Group has said that, from December, the region will have a five-bed paediatric burns unit.