Early ambulation following lower limb burn and surgery is associated with improved long-term functional outcome and reduced hospital length of stay: A longitudinal cohort study

IF 3.2 3区医学 Q2 CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE

Burns Pub Date : 2025-04-02 DOI:10.1016/j.burns.2025.107474

Claudia J. Tatlow , Dana A. Hince , Chelsea K. Evans , Piers Truter , Pip C. Pienaar , Fiona M. Wood , Max Bulsara , Aaron Berghuber , Paul M. Gittings , Dale W. Edgar

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

Ambulating early after lower limb burn surgery has been associated with a multitude of in-hospital and short-term benefits. However, long-term functional recovery following lower limb burns is poorly understood, especially if grafting surgery is required.

Objectives

This study aimed to explore the association between early ambulation following lower limb burn injury and surgery, long-term lower limb functional recovery and secondly, hospital length of stay (LOS).

Methods

This retrospective longitudinal cohort study reported data from 1718 adult patients treated by a tertiary hospital burn center in Western Australia between February 2011 and December 2019 following a lower limb burn injury.

Results

Comparable lower limb function outcomes were found at six weeks after injury regardless of burn severity or timing of ambulation. Early ambulation pathways were associated with the likelihood of achieving a better long-term functional recovery over the first year after burn. A positive association was also confirmed between early ambulation and hospital LOS. After adjustment, patients who ambulated early after burn and surgery had a LOS of 1.76 days less than patients who ambulated early after burn but late after surgery (IRR 1.22, 95 % CI:1.13–1.3, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Early ambulation before the third day after lower limb burn injury and surgery was associated with improved long-term functional outcome trajectory to one year and reduced hospital LOS by of 1.76 days when patients ambulated early after surgery. Future investigations with larger, targeted samples of complex patients are warranted to explore the influence of early ambulation on the outcomes of multi-morbidity subgroups.

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下肢烧伤和手术后尽早行走与改善长期功能预后和缩短住院时间有关：纵向队列研究

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来源期刊

Burns 医学-皮肤病学

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

18.50%

发文量

304

审稿时长

72 days

期刊介绍： Burns aims to foster the exchange of information among all engaged in preventing and treating the effects of burns. The journal focuses on clinical, scientific and social aspects of these injuries and covers the prevention of the injury, the epidemiology of such injuries and all aspects of treatment including development of new techniques and technologies and verification of existing ones. Regular features include clinical and scientific papers, state of the art reviews and descriptions of burn-care in practice. Topics covered by Burns include: the effects of smoke on man and animals, their tissues and cells; the responses to and treatment of patients and animals with chemical injuries to the skin; the biological and clinical effects of cold injuries; surgical techniques which are, or may be relevant to the treatment of burned patients during the acute or reconstructive phase following injury; well controlled laboratory studies of the effectiveness of anti-microbial agents on infection and new materials on scarring and healing; inflammatory responses to injury, effectiveness of related agents and other compounds used to modify the physiological and cellular responses to the injury; experimental studies of burns and the outcome of burn wound healing; regenerative medicine concerning the skin.