JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Data from the National Burn Information Exchange indicate that the quality of burn care in the United States is improving in the participating health care facilities. Case reports of 37,442 patients collected between 1965 and 1979 from 120 burn care facilities have been examined. ⋯ The changes are associated with a trend toward more timely wound closure for full-thickness burns and are evident in the majority of hospitals studied. Tables of current survival rates and hospitalization times, by patient age and size of burn, are presented.