Boston Shriners researchers complete burn survivor studyStudy shows majority of children who survive massive burns can expect favorable quality of life |
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An extensive, long-term study by researchers at the Shriners Hospital in Boston, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that most children who survive massive burns, i.e. burns involving more than 70 percent of their bodies, can expect to have a quality of life comparable to children their ages in the general population. 
Before the 1970s children suffering burns over one third or more of their bodies rarely survived. The few who did not die during the first few days after being injured often died from massive infection in the weeks following the burn. Today, thanks to quantum leaps in medical treatment and research, it is possible to save the lives of children with burns covering more than 90 percent of their body surface. Although patients with such enormous burns can now be saved, the wisdom of doing so has posed many health policy and ethical questions: Children are being saved, but for what quality of life? Optimal care of a severely burned child requires many years of extremely expensive surgical, medical, psychological and rehabilitative treatment and, until recently, there was virtually no data to show what quality of life survivors of massive burns are experiencing. Now, an extensive, long-term study by researchers at the Shriners Burns Hospital in Boston shows that most children who survive massive burns have a quality of life comparable to children their age in the general population. "Children who survive massive burns will have major cosmetic and functional impairments that can never be completely corrected," says Dr. Robert Sheridan, assistant chief of staff at Shriners, and the study's lead author. "However, our data show that treatment of severely burned children is not necessarily followed by a poor quality of life. In fact, we have found that, if three important factors are present — a functional family, early return to pre-burn activities, and consistent follow-up in a specialized burn clinic — a favorable quality of life can be expected for the majority of children who suffer massive burns." To conduct the study, every child who survived a burn in excess of 70 percent of their body surface and was discharged from the Shriners Hospital in Boston between January 1, 1969, and December 31, 1992, (or their family) was contacted. Using a widely accepted research questionnaire, eight quality of life indicators were examined: general health, physical functioning, social functioning, physical limitations, emotional limitations, mental health, energy and vitality, and bodily pain. The study was entirely supported by the Shriners Hospitals for Children and by grants from the National Institutes of Health General Medical Sciences. Lead author is Dr. Robert Sheridan, second author from Shriners is Michelle Hinson, R.N. Dr. Ronald Tompkins, chief of staff, and Janet Mulligan, R.N., M.S., director of patient care services at Shriners, were major contributors along with several contributing researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Read more about the Shriners Hospitals research program. |
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Published 1/00 * Last modified March 28, 2003
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