Assessing guidelines for burn referrals in a resource-constrained setting: Demographic and clinical factors associated with inter-facility transfer

- Most children fulfilled the referral guidelines for burns.
- Three out of four children were referred to the burns unit for further management.
- Many children were not referred despite fulfilling the criteria for referral.

AimThe aim was to assess demographic and clinical factors associated with inter-facility referrals for patients with burns in a resource-constrained setting.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional case review of patients presenting with a burn at the trauma unit at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital (RXH) in Cape Town, South Africa.ResultsSix hundred and eleven-(71%) children were referred to the burns or the intensive care unit and 253 children were treated and discharged from the trauma unit. Of those admitted as inpatients 94% fulfilled at least one of the criteria for referral and 80% of those treated and discharged fulfilled the criteria for referral.ConclusionsAlmost three out of four children evaluated at the trauma unit were referred to the burns unit for further management. However, a large number of patients were treated and discharged from the trauma unit despite being eligible for referral.