Venous Thromboembolism Incidence And Risk Factors In Burn Patients

PURPOSE: There is a lack of comprehensive studies on Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) incidence and risk factors in burn patients. Understanding VTE in this context is crucial, as it can lead to severe complications and patient morbidity/mortality. This abstract aims to bridge this knowledge gap by investigating VTE incidence and risk factors in burn patients, potentially informing more effective prevention measures and improving patient care in burn medicine. METHODS: We analyzed the US National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) from 2007-2021, identifying burn patients through ICD-10 codes. We assessed Total Body Surface Area (TBSA), inhalation injury, age, sex, smoking, anticoagulation use, diabetes, and prior stroke history as predictors of VTE. Comorbidities were abstracted using event codes. RESULTS: Among 442,623 burn patients, 7,384 (1.7%) experienced VTE during hospitalization, primarily deep vein thromboses (56.0%) and pulmonary emboli (20.4%). VTE patients were older (37.7 vs. 35.2, p<.001), more often male (82.5% vs. 78.9%, p<.001), obese (7.4% vs. 3.4%, p<.001), smokers (28.9% vs. 26.5%, p=.025), and had higher %TBSA burns (16.5% vs. 13.2%, p<.001). They also had comorbidities, including hypertension (9.0% vs. 8.1%, p=.002), myocardial infarction (7.5% vs. 4.8%, p<.001), alcohol use disorder (14.0% vs. 6.6%, p<.001), and substance abuse (31.7% vs. 20.1%, p<.001). CONCLUSION: This study addresses the understudied aspect of VTE in burn care, highlighting risk factors like age, obesity, male sex, and comorbidities. By addressing these factors and developing tailored interventions, we can enhance patient care, mitigate complications, and improve outcomes in burn medicine.