Chemical Burns in Northern China: Co-Occurrence of Low TBSA and Recorded Full-Thickness Involvement in a 7-Year Retrospective Cohort.

Background

Total body surface area (TBSA) quantifies burn extent, whereas burn depth reflects tissue involvement. In chemical burns, small surface-area injuries may still include deeper tissue damage, but this patient-level co-occurrence remains incompletely described; we therefore examined it in hospitalized patients in northern China.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed a merged 2016-2022 burn database. Records coded as chemical burns were included when the recorded length of stay exceeded one day.

Results

Of 5929 screened records, 214 were coded as chemical burns. Exclusion of two short-stay records left 212 unique patients. Most were male (74.5%) and aged 18-60 years (84.9%). Workplace exposure was recorded for 47.2%. Among 105 patients with ≤2% TBSA and a known depth, 87 (82.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 74.5-88.9%) had a recorded maximum-depth category involving a full-thickness component. Among all 109 patients with ≤2% TBSA, 81 (74.3%; 95% CI: 65.4-81.6%) had a positive recorded III/IV-degree area. Acids and alkalis accounted for 30.2% and 29.7% of recorded exposures, respectively, and 37.3% underwent at least one operation.

Conclusions

Working-age adults predominated, and workplace exposure was the most common recorded setting. Low TBSA frequently co-occurred with recorded full-thickness involvement in this selected inpatient cohort. The findings support reporting recorded burn depth alongside TBSA in hospitalized chemical injuries and improving standardized prospective documentation.