To Everything There Is a Season

Abstract

Summer and winter were the peak seasons of resource utilization at our burn center, in terms of length and variability of ICU and hospital stays, as well as total hospital charges. Such seasonal change may be related to acuity of burn injury but not number of burn admissions. To improve operational efficiency and maximize patient throughput, resource allocation should be structured to anticipate seasonal changes, so that supply of services matches demand.

Risk Factors for Inpatient Hospital Admission in Pediatric Burn Patients

“…Previous studies investigating temporal variations of burn inpatient admissions in the United States have had limited sample sizes representing a few states [ 5 , 11 , 19 ]; these studies’ conclusions have not been congruent and can only be applied to the state where each study was conducted. Our analysis represents pediatric burn patients nationally and shows a 31.8% increased likelihood for patients to be admitted during the month of July.…”

“…Our analysis represents pediatric burn patients nationally and shows a 31.8% increased likelihood for patients to be admitted during the month of July. Some smaller studies have demonstrated higher rates of hospital admissions during winter months, correlating with increased scald injuries possibly caused by consumption of hot beverages and use of electric heaters [ 11 ]. Our data, however, does not suggest a national increase of burn injury admissions during winter months.…”

“…As the safety of the environment and degree of supervision varies temporally, it follows that there may be a temporal pattern of burn injury presentation corresponding with the time of the day, day of the week, or month/season of the year. All-age studies around the world have presented discordant conclusions: some findings suggest increased prevalence of admission during summer [ 5 - 9 ], winter [ 10 ], both summer and winter [ 11 - 12 ], or both winter and spring [ 13 - 15 ]; some studies found no correlation with the seasons [ 16 - 18 ]. It is likely that population-specific factors, such as cultural norms, ethnicity, or local climate, may alter the behaviors of each study sample differently.…”

“…Some of these behaviors may place individuals in environments that pose a greater risk for accidental burns, specific to certain months of the year. Within the United States, pediatric and all-age studies examining seasonal variation of burn risk have been limited in number and only represent a limited geographic range [ 5 , 11 , 19 ]; thus, there is a need to investigate admission patterns in the United States, which may guide prevention or burn treatment strategies.…”

Epidemiological analysis of burn injuries in children during the first COVID-19 lockdown, and a comparison with the previous five years

“…The prevention measures initiated in France over the period 2009–2014 reduced the incidence of burn injuries [1] . Although the seasonality and/or time of day of burn injuries has been extensively studied, a clear consensus on seasonal, monthly or daily patterns has not emerged [2] , [3] , [4] . In England and Wales, child burn injuries are most frequent between 4 pm and 7pm and are more frequent at the weekend than during the school/work week, i.e.…”