@article{ref1,
title="A third of referrals are unnecessary: critical review of burn outpatient clinic data",
journal="Burns: journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries",
year="2019",
author="Cherukupalli, A. and Duan, N. and Papp, A.",
volume="45",
number="4",
pages="805-817",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to establish patterns in types of burns referred to the Outpatient Clinic (OP) at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). <br><br>METHODS: A 2-year retrospective chart review was conducted of patients presenting to the OP Clinic from June 1, 2016 - June 1, 2018. Data collected included: patient demographics, depth of burn, Total Body Surface Area (TBSA), anatomical location of burn, geographical location of referral, and operative versus non-operative management. <br><br>RESULTS: The OP Clinic served 470 patients for burn injuries with a total of 1852 visits. Of these, 20% were follow-up visits post-admission, and 73.6% were primary referrals from the emergency department (ED) or elsewhere. The vast majority (69.6%) of burns were less than 5% TBSA. Half involved the hands (50.9%), and half were superficial dermal in depth (45.1%). A third of patients attended only one appointment with the OP Clinic before discharge and 15% did not receive any treatment. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study demonstrate gaps in current provincial referral guidelines leading to a significant number of &quot;unnecessary referrals.&quot; Further research could correlate the results to current provincial referral guidelines to estimate their current efficacy in practical use.<br><br>Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0305-4179",
doi="10.1016/j.burns.2019.03.013",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2019.03.013"
}