Citation

Kumar S, Kain R, More A, Sheth S, Arumugam PK. J. Burn Care Res. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Burn Association, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1093/jbcr/iraa217

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it many challenges in the field of healthcare around the world. Managing burn patients has its own challenges as they require a long duration of care and are more susceptible to infection. We conducted a retrospective observational study from 30 th January to 15 th July 2020 at our centre to study the epidemiology of burns treated & patients and healthcare workers affected by COVID-19 during this period. The number of burn admissions showed a 42.6% reduction as compared to last year. A total of 17 patients (3.67%) and 29 health care workers (8.68%) tested positive for COVID-19 in the burns department. Our strategy underwent changes based on the changing dynamics of COVID-19 and changes in government and institutional policies. We have described the various challenges we faced in managing burns during this time. We found that effective screening of patients and healthcare workers, proper segregation of negative and positive/ suspect population and a low threshold for COVID-19 testing were essential to mitigate transmission of infection.

Language: en

Keywords

challenges; strategy; COVID-19; Burns centre