Background: Facial and neck burns are clinically significant, due to their association with inhalation injury and the risk of airway oedema, which may necessitate urgent airway intervention and endotracheal intubation (1). It remains unclear whether adverse outcomes are primarily driven by burn location itself or by total burn surface area (% TBSA).This study aims to evaluate the incidence of facial and neck burns on all acute burn referrals to Waikato Hospital Plastics Surgery Department in the year 2024.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital records of all burn patients referred to Waikato Hospital over a 12 month period, between 1st January 2024 and 31st December 2024. The following data were collected from the patients’ medical records: age, sex, % TBSA, mechanism, burn depth, patients’ comorbidities, length of stay, presence of face and neck burns, presence of inhalation injury. We also compared the clinical outcomes between patients with and without facial and neck burns and to identify whether it serves as a risk factor.
Results: A total of 593 patients were referred during the study period. 117 (19.7%) presented with face and neck burns. 476 (80.3%) did not have face and neck burns. 104 face and neck burn cases (88.9%) were referred to plastics within 24hours of time of accident. There were 218 hospital admissions (218/593, 36.76%). Patients with facial and neck burns had higher % TBSA (4.99% VS 2.69%), higher admission rates (42.7% vs 37.3%) and longer hospital stay 11.22 days vs 9.45 days). According to the mechanism of injury, the majority were flash flame burns (n=44, 41.1%) and scald burns (n=34, 31.7%)
Conclusion: While facial and neck burns require specialised focus on airway assessment and wound management, our study suggests that adverse outcomes in this group are likely driven by overall % TBSA rather than anatomical location of burn alone.