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Sex-Based Differences in Inpatient Burn Mortality
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Sex-Based Differences in Inpatient Burn Mortality

Felicia N. Williams, Paula D. Strassle, Laquanda Knowlin, Sonia Napravnik, David van Duin, Anthony Charles, Rabia Nizamani, Samuel W. Jones and Bruce A. Cairns
World journal of surgery, Vol.43(12), pp.3035-3043
12/2019
DOI: 10.1007/s00268-019-05165-x
PMCID: PMC6871510
PMID: 31511940
url
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/6871510View
Open Access

Abstract

Background Among burn patients, research is conflicted, but may suggest that females are at increased risk of mortality, despite the opposite being true in non-burn trauma. Our objective was to determine whether sex-based differences in burn mortality exist, and assess whether patient demographics, comorbid conditions, and injury characteristics explain said differences. Methods Adult patients admitted with burn injury-including inhalation injury only-between 2004 and 2013 were included. Inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTW) and inverse probability of censor weights (IPCW) were calculated using admit year, patient demographics, comorbid conditions, and injury characteristics to adjust for potential confounding and informative censoring. Standardized Kaplan-Meier survival curves, weighted by both IPTW and IPCW, were used to estimate the 30-day and 60-day risk of inpatient mortality across sex. Results Females were older (median age 44 vs. 41 years old, p<0.0001) and more likely to be Black (32% vs. 25%, p<0.0001), have diabetes (14% vs. 10%, p<0.0001), pulmonary disease (14% vs. 7%, p<0.0001), heart failure (4% vs. 2%, p=0.001), scald burns (45% vs. 26%, p<0.0001), and inhalational injuries (10% vs. 8%, p=0.04). Even after weighting, females were still over twice as likely to die after 60 days (RR 2.87, 95% CI 1.09, 7.51). Conclusion Female burn patients have a significantly higher risk of 60-day mortality, even after accounting for demographics, comorbid conditions, burn size, and inhalational injury. Future research efforts and treatments to attenuate mortality should account for these sex-based differences.
Life Sciences & Biomedicine Science & Technology Surgery

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