Kidney and heart diseases reduce survival rate after severe burns

Despite enormous medical advances, severe burns are still potentially life-threatening injuries. Clinical scores, which take relevant parameters into account, are available to doctors as a decision-making aid for therapeutic measures and to assess the probability of patient survival. Pre-existing diseases were not previously included in these models. A research team from MedUni Vienna has now shown for the first time that chronic kidney disease and existing cardiovascular disease in particular have a negative impact on the prognosis of those affected. The study has just been published in the specialist journal "Surgery". The study included data from 1,193 patients who were treated between 2000 and 2019 in the intensive care unit for severely burnt patients at the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna. In addition to the usual parameters, the influence of chronic pre-existing diseases was also included in the analysis for the first time.