TY - JOUR PY - 1998// TI - Major burns in Cape Town: a modified burns score for patient triage JO - Burns: journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries A1 - Godwin, Y. A1 - Wood, S. H. SP - 58 EP - 63 VL - 24 IS - 1 N2 - Major burns equal to, or greater than, 30 per cent total body surface area (TBSA) constitute 23 per cent of the admissions to the adult burns unit in Cape Town. A retrospective review over a 28-month period identified 87 cases of major burns. This paper summarizes the epidemiology and mortality amongst this patient group over this period. Demand for treatment can exceed bed availability in the unit. The difficult issue, this raises, of patient triage in relation to the relatively limited resources is addressed and a simple modified burns score proposed for this unit. The effect this score would have in optimizing the use of our resources is demonstrated.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0305-4179 UR - http://dx.doi.org/ ID - ref1 ER -