Analysis of the efficiency of an emergency network for the treatment of multiple burn victims.

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of the adopted strategy and the care quality for pediatric trauma in the survival of patients attended after a disaster in a city in the interior of Minas Gerais state, compared to the expected results of studies on infant mortality in major burns. Methods: retrospective observational analysis of ten patients who were burned and transferred to a trauma reference center. We used the modified R-Baux score to estimate the expected mortality. We compared the expected mortality predicted by R-Baux score and the actual mortality determined from one-ratio test. We also compared time of post-trauma admission with mortality and burned body surface area with mortality. Results: mean R-Baux score was 75.2, which means an expected mortality of 5% among major burn patients. However, in this study, mortality in the group of children with large burned body surface area was of 60%, p=0.001, a rate far beyond that expected in literature. Conclusion: despite the innumerable variables, we consider the hypothesis of the pediatric trauma care infrastructure being inferior than the one needed in the state. This study suggests a greater incentive for public policies concerning pediatric trauma care, prepared referral center, well-established transfer agreements, and optimization of catastrophe plans, in order to reduce morbimortality of patients who survive the first hour after trauma.