Citation

Wallace HJ, Fear MW, Crowe MM, Martin LJ, Wood FM. Burns 2017; 43(6): 1271-1283.

Affiliation

Burn Injury Research Unit, Faculty of Health and Medial Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Burns Service of Western Australia, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: fiona.wood@health.wa.gov.au.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.burns.2017.03.017

PMID

28420569

Abstract

This study examined influences on scarring after burn in a prospective study using a defined outcome measure: scar height measured by a modified Vancouver Scar Scale (mVSS). A prospective case-control study was conducted among 616 adult subjects who sustained a burn in Western Australia. Patient factors influencing scar outcome including gender, Fitzpatrick skin type and selected co-morbidities were explored, as well as injury and clinical factors. A logistic regression model for raised scar after burn was developed which achieved an overall correct prediction rate of 81.1%; 74.8% for those with raised scar and 86.0% for those without raised scar. From this study, injury and clinical predictors for raised scar after adjustment for other variables are: increasing %TBSA, greater burn depth as indicated by level of surgical intervention, wound complications and prolonged hospital stay. Intrinsic patient predictors for raised scar in patients with comparable injuries are: young age (≤30 years), female gender and Fitzpatrick skin types 4-6. The strength of association statistics (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals) reported will be of practical benefit for clinical decision-making and counselling of patients, and plausible biological explanations for the findings support the validity of the results.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Adults; Burns; Hypertrophic scar; Risk factors; Wound healing