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Abstract
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The World Health Organisation declared the SARS-CoV-2 virus a global pandemic on 11th March 2020, following which the British Government announced a period of restriction of personal movement on 16th March, colloquially termed "lockdown".
The impact of the pandemic and subsequent national lockdown on individuals' mental health has been considered by both the scientific and popular media [1,2], with a secondary focus on alcohol consumption [3]. The lockdown period resulted in a complex socio-behavioural response in the population, including changing patterns of alcohol consumption [4]. Alcohol intake in those with previous alcohol use disorders increased during this period, including those previously abstinent [5]. The association between alcohol and burn injury has previously been detailed [6,7], including the impact on burns related fatalities [8].
The effect of the United Kingdom's COVID-19 lockdown on overall burns presentations has been considered in adults and children [9,10], in addition to the global restructuring of burns services [11]. However, there is currently a paucity of data surrounding the effect of the pandemic on alcohol-related burn injuries. We sought to establish the incidence of alcohol-related burn injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic and characteristics associated with this injury cohort.
Salisbury District Hospital Burns Unit provides specialist burn care as part of the Southwest and Wales Burn Network, accepting patients with moderate severity burns. A retrospective review was undertaken of all adult inpatient and outpatient burn injuries between 16th March 2020 and 30th September 2020 in comparison to the same period in 2019. The British Isles Burn Injury Database was used to identify patients through a co-morbidity coding of alcohol abuse or a free text entry confirming the association of alcohol consumption with the burn injury...
Language: en |