Study: Hospital Admissions for Burns Rise

After a seven-year decline, hospital burn admissions rose 22 percent between 2000 and 2004, according to new U.S. research.

By 2004, the most recent year for which data is available, hospital admissions for burns reached 32,000 individuals, at a total cost of $573 million, according to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Almost one in five patients admitted were burned by hot liquid, such as cooking oil or steam. Burns from gasoline, electrical appliances and acids were also common causes of hospital visits.

The most admissions were for 18- to 44-year-old patients, who accounted for 38 percent of burn-related injuries. The elderly, who were involved in only 12 percent of burn admissions, accounted for the smallest share.

The report uses statistics from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database of hospital inpatient stays that is nationally representative of all short-term, non-federal hospitals.