Risk factors for burn contractures in a lower income country: Four illustrative cases.

Introduction: Burns are most prevalent in low- and middle-income countries but the risk factors for burn contractures in these settings are poorly understood. There is some evidence from low- and middle-income country studies to suggest that non-medical factors such as socio-economic and health system issues may be as, or possibly more, important than biomedical factors in the development of post-burn contractures. Methods: Four cases are presented to illustrate the impact of non-biomedical factors on contracture outcomes in a low-income setting. The cases were drawn from participants in a cross-sectional study which examined risk factors for contracture in Bangladesh. Discussion: The two cases had similar burns but different standards of care for socio-economic reasons, leading to very different contracture outcomes The two cases both had access to specialist care but had very different contracture outcomes for non-medical reasons. The risk factors and contracture outcomes in each case are documented and compared. Conclusion: The impact of non-biomedical factors in contracture development after burns in low- and middle-income countries is highlighted and discussed. Lay Summary: Burns are common in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) but the risk factors for burn contractures in these settings are poorly understood. Burn contractures are formed when scarring from a burn injury is near or over a joint and results in limited movement. There is some evidence from LMIC studies which suggests that non-medical factors such as socio-economic (e.g., household income, level of education) and health system issues (e.g., whether specialist burn care could be accessed) may be as, or possibly more, important than non-medical factors (such as the type and depth of burn and the treatments received) in the development of contractures following burn injuries.Four cases are presented to illustrate the impact of non-biomedical factors on contracture outcomes in a low-income setting. The cases were drawn from participants in a larger study which examined risk factors for contracture in Bangladesh. Two cases had similar burns but different standards of care and different outcomes. Two cases had similar access to specialist care but very different outcomes for non-medical reasons. The risk factors present and contractures outcomes in each case are documented and compared.The importance of non-biomedical factors in contracture development after burns in LMICs is highlighted and discussed.

Global perspectives on risk factors for major joint burn contractures: A literature review.

Contractures are a frequent consequence of burn injuries, yet our knowledge of associated risk factors is limited. This paper provides an extensive review of relevant literature from both High-Income Countries (HICs) and Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Ninety-four papers (up to June 2019) and eight subsequent publications (up to March 2022) were included, 76% of which were from HICs. The majority of publications were either descriptive studies (4 from HICs, 9 from LMICs) or papers citing putative risk factors (37 from HICs, 10 from LMICs). Seventeen publications (all from HICs) reported on the effects of individual non-surgical therapeutic interventions, often with conflicting results. Two published systematic reviews emphasised the poor quality of evidence available. Only fifteen studies (3 from LMICs) examined potential contracture risk factors with statistical comparisons of outcomes; significant findings from these included demographic, burn, comorbidities, and treatment risk factors. LMIC papers included socioeconomic and healthcare system factors as potential risks for contracture; these were rarely considered in HIC publications. Methodological issues identified from this review of literature included differences in contracture definitions, populations studied, standards of care, joints included and the timing and nature of contracture assessments.This review is the first to collate existing knowledge on risk factors for burn contractures from both HIC and LMIC settings, revealing a surprising lack of robust evidence for many accepted risk factors. In LMICs, where burns are particularly common, universal health provision is lacking and specialist burn care is both scarce and difficult to access; consequently, socioeconomic factors may have more immediate impact on contracture outcomes than specific burn treatments or therapies. Much more work is indicated to fully understand the relative impacts of risk factors in different settings so that context-appropriate contracture prevention strategies can be developed.

Burn contracture risk factors and measurement in low-middle income countries: A clinical perspective.

We find a lack of high-quality published evidence on risk factors for burn contracture formation. The vast majority of research is from High Income Countries (HICs), where many potential risk factors are controlled for by standardised and high-quality healthcare systems. To augment the published literature, burn care professionals with Low Middle Income Countries (LMICs) experience were interviewed for their opinion on risk factors for burn contracture formation. Participants were also asked for their views on identification and measurement of contracture. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted (13 burn surgeons and 4 therapists). The average length of experience in burn-care was 13 years. Participants represented Ghana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Nepal, and India. Participants reported ninety risk factors. Risk factors were later collated according to topic: Non burn individual factors (n = 13), Burn injury factors (n = 14), Family and community factors (n = 9), Treatment factors (n = 18), Complications (n = 2), Healthcare capacity factors (n = 19) and Societal and environmental factors (n = 12). The top five most frequently cited risk factors were lack of splinting, lack of physiotherapy, lack of early excision and skin grafting, low socioeconomic status and presence of infection. Although participants had no doubts that they could recognise a contracture, none provided a standardised system of measurement or an operational definition of contracture. Burn care professionals have a wealth of experience and untapped knowledge of risk factors for burn contracture formation in their own population base, but many of the risk factors highlighted by participants have not yet been explored in the literature. Variations in clinicians' diagnosis and measurement of a burn contracture underscores the need for an agreed, standardised, simple and easily reproducible method of diagnosing and classifying burn contractures.

Risk factors for burn contractures: A cross-sectional study in a lower income country.

Risk factors for burn contractures require further study, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs); existing research has been predominantly conducted in high income countries (HICs). This study aimed to identify risk factors for burn contractures of major joints in a low-income setting. Potential risk factors (n = 104) for burn contracture were identified from the literature and a survey of clinicians with extensive experience in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). An observational cross-sectional study of adult burn survivors was undertaken in Bangladesh to evaluate as many of these risk factors as were feasible against contracture presence and severity. Forty-eight potential risk factors were examined in 48 adult patients with 126 major joints at risk (median 3 per participant) at a median of 2.5 years after burn injury. Contractures were present in 77% of participants and 52% of joints overall. Contracture severity was determined by measurement of loss of movement at all joints at risk. Person level risk factors were defined as those that were common to all joints at risk for the participant and only documented once, whilst joint level risk factors were documented for each of the participant's included joints at risk. Person level risk factors which were significantly correlated with loss of range of movement (ROM) included employment status, full thickness burns, refusal of skin graft, discharged against medical advice, low frequency of follow up and lack of awareness of contracture development. Significant joint level risk factors for loss of ROM included anatomical location, non-grafted burns, and lack of pressure therapy. This study has examined the largest number of potential contracture risk factors in an LMIC setting to date. A key finding was that risk factors for contracture in low-income settings may differ substantially from those seen in high income countries, which has implications for effective prevention strategies in these countries. Better whole person and joint outcome measures are required for accurate determination of risk factors for burn contracture. Recommendations for planning and reporting on future contracture risk factor studies are made.