Background: Length of stay (LOS) is one of contributor in hospital costs, and attention has been paid to reducing LOS without compromising the quality of  care for patients. Hospitals with a burn center have a longer average LOS than hospitals without a burn center, which can result in higher hospitalization costs. This study aims to identify the epidemological and clinical factors that affect LOS in burn patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in design included all patients  admitted to the Burn Center Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya between January 2017 - December 2019 who arrived within 48 hours after injury and survived till discharge. Patients who arrived after 48 hours following the injury, death during treatment and discharge against medical advice are excluded. Epidemiological and clinical data, such as age, gender, pre-existing co-morbidities, total body surface area (TBSA) burn wound, depth of burn, inhalation trauma, burn etiology, hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP), sepsis, anemia and hypoalbuminemia collected and subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Of all 249 patients admitted, 136 patients are eligible in the inclusion criteria. Median LOS in the total population was 17 days. The population most often treated for more than 28 days is a patient with a burn area of 30.5-40%, experiencing HAP and hypoalbuminemia. LOS significantly increased with TBSA, inhalation trauma, comorbidities, HAP, sepsis, anemia and hypoalbuminemia. Conclusion: There are several factors associated with the increased LOS observed in burn patients. This study confirmed and identified new factors that were significantly associated with LOS and were not previously discussed in the literature which allows better prediction of LOS and management of patients with burn injuries.

burn injury

length of stay