Clinical Symptoms of Postburn Hypertrophic Scars and Analysis of Risk Factors for Itching and Pain Requiring Pharmacological Intervention

Aim This study mainly discusses the clinical symptoms associated with postburn hypertrophic scars (HTSs) and analyzes risk factors (RFs) for itching and pain requiring pharmacological intervention. Methods All clinical data of 93 patients with postburn HTSs who visited the Burn Department of our hospital between January 1, 2021, and January 1, 2023, were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Patient general information, burn-related treatment, and time, location, and related treatment of scar hyperplasia after burns were collected and recorded. Referring to the University of North Carolina “4P” Scar Scale (UNC4P), patients were rated as either “with” or “without” according to whether they had “scar itching symptoms requiring pharmacological intervention” and “scar pain symptoms requiring pharmacological intervention.” Statistical methods such as one-way ANOVA and logistic regression were used to analyze RFs related to clinical symptoms of itching and pain in postburn HTS patients requiring pharmacological intervention. Results Smoking, burn wounds of III degree, and duration of hyperplasia development ≤1 year were independent RFs for scar itching requiring pharmacological intervention. In the analysis of RFs for pain requiring pharmacological intervention in patients with postburn HTSs, the greater the age and body mass index (BMI), the higher the likelihood of requiring pharmacological intervention. As far as scar thickness was concerned, patients with postburn HTSs with thickness >5 mm and 2 to 5 mm were 11.136 and 11.646 times more likely to have “scar pain requiring pharmacological intervention” than those with postburn HTSs with thickness less than 2 mm; the possibility of “scar pain requiring pharmacological intervention” in patients with a duration of hyperplasia development ≤1 year was 20.830 times more than that in patients with a duration >1 year. Conclusions The symptoms associated with postburn HTSs are itching and pain, and the main RFs include age, BMI, scar thickness, and duration of hyperplasia development.