Relationship of pneumonia and time of admission to survival of inhalation injury patients in Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital Makassar

Abstract

Introduction: Burn injuries are unique traumas that are recognized as serious public health problems both in low and high-income countries. The lung is the first organ to undergo failure in dying burn patients. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the incidence of pneumonia and mortality in inhalation trauma patients.

Methods: The design of this study was descriptive-analytic using a cross-sectional study design. Data were obtained from the Burn Unit of Wahidin Sudirohusodo General Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia. The inclusion criteria were patients with inhalation trauma, diagnosed radiologically as pneumonia, moderate burn injury, and facial burn injury.

Results: This study included 51 subjects diagnosed with inhalation injury. The subjects were hospitalized via the Emergency Department of Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital Makassar. Data analysis was performed on 51 subjects aged 1 to 78 years old, with a mean of 33.0 ± 16.2. The onset in all subjects varied between an hour and 336 hours after the inhalation injury. Based on the distribution of the percentage of living subjects, there was a significant correlation between the presence of pneumonia and survival (p <0.001). There is a significant correlation between time of admission and survival (p <0.001). Subjects admitted to hospital <24 hours have more chance to survive than those ≥24 hours.

Conclusion: This study concludes that pneumonia can be a mortality predictor in inhalation injury patients. Time of admission is also a significant factor affecting burn patients' outcomes.