The Effect of COVID-19 on Length of Stay in Hospital and Patient Population Following Burn Injury.

Abstract

Acute burn care is heavily resource-dependent and thus was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to examine the relationship between COVID-19 and the length of stay (LOS) in hospital following burn injury as prolonged admissions have implications on both individuals and healthcare systems. Additionally, this study explored how COVID-19 affected the homeless burn population, as homelessness has been associated with longer hospital admissions due to limited post-discharge resources. Single-centre, retrospective cohort study using data from the Burn Registry and medical chart review with inclusion of all adult burn patients admitted to a quaternary provincial burn unit from April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2023. Patients admitted prior to April 1, 2020, were considered the pre-COVID cohort. Key variables included demographic characteristics and LOS, with homelessness defined as a lack of a fixed address. Of 498 included patients, 301 and 197 were in the pre-COVID and COVID cohorts, respectively. While both cohorts had similar age and gender distributions, a significant difference was noted in LOS between cohorts, with COVID cohort patients staying in hospital for 22 (24) days compared to 20 (29) days in the pre-COVID cohort. More notably, a 58% increase in homeless patients was seen during COVID, with 17% (50/301) of admitted patients being homeless pre-COVID compared to 26% (52/197) during COVID (p < 0.05). The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a slightly increased LOS in burn patients, with homeless patients disproportionately affected. This has important implications for both patient outcomes and healthcare resource allocation.