• Henning Onarheim and Hallvard A Vindenes.
• Kirurgisk serviceklinikk, Haukeland Universitetssykkehus, Bergen. henning.onarheim@helse-bergen.no
• Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. 2004 Aug 26; 124 (16): 2130-2.

BackgroundWe wanted to investigate the incidence of burns and the volume of in-hospital burn treatment in Norway.Material And MethodsData for 1999 were compiled from hospital admissions as reported to the Norwegian Patient Register. Selection was based on ICD-10 codes for burns, though caustic injuries, reconstructive procedures, and patients discharged alive with length-of-stay less than 1 day were not included.Results707 admissions requiring 9444 days in hospital were identified. The incidence of burns admitted to hospital was 13.5/100,000 inhabitants/year. Additionally, 102 admissions were coded as post-burn reconstructive cases. 50% all admissions and 40 % of all days in hospital for burns were in hospitals without a department of plastic surgery. 24 burn patients died before discharge; 50% of those who died were above 80 years of age. 29% of all stays included a code representing surgical procedures involving skin excision and grafting.InterpretationThe incidence of burns admitted to hospitals in 1999 was reduced by 20% compared to a 1977 survey. The number of reconstructive procedures was low; these options should probably be offered to more patients. We suggest that early transfer to a specialised burn centre should be considered for a somewhat larger proportion of patients.

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