A new approach to assessment severity patients with severe burn injury

Introduction. The aim of this work was to improve the method for assessing the severity condition and the probability of death in patients with burn disease based on the study of spectral parameters heart rate variability, their dependence on the severity burns and correlations with the outcome burn disease.Materials and methods: 84 patients (57 men and 27 women) aged 21-65 years (mean 44.2±2.8) were examined. The inclusion criteria for the study were: the presence of superficial burns of more than 15% or deep burns of more than 10% of the body area, or a combination of deep and superficial burns with a total area of more than 15% of the body area.Results: The study revealed that in case of a burn injury, there is a suppression of the wave structure of the heart rate and indicators of the total power of the spectrum, which are recorded already in the first hours after the burn. The degree of suppression of spectral indicators of heart rate variability depended on the severity of the burn. A correlation was revealed between the severity index and the values of the spectrum power in the low and high frequency ranges and the total power of the heart rate variability spectrum. Conclusion: Heart rate variability has a prognostic value, since a correlation was found between an unfavorable outcome and indicators of heart rate variability recorded upon admission to the hospital. A mathematical model has been developed for assessing the severity of the burned person's condition and the likelihood of death.