Análise das características de pessoas idosas vítimas de queimaduras: uma revisão integrativa.

Abstract

Burns are injuries triggered by agents that produce excessive heat and damage body tissues, leading to cell death. They represent an important cause of death in the elderly, as advanced age and physiological complications greatly reduce the rate of discontinuous survival of this lesion. Burns suffered by older people need more attention, as they are more susceptible to complications such as infections and longer recovery due to poor vascularity and thin skin thickness. In addition, sequelae have a greater negative impact on their quality of life than on younger people. OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to analyze in the literature characteristics of elderly burn victims attended in a hospital environment and compare them with those of the burned population in general. METHODOLOGY: This study consists of an integrative review of the literature. Studies were found through the combination of descriptors and, subsequently, selected those that were compatible with the proposed theme, through the use of inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in 07 publications used to construct the results. RESULTS: The total was 169 elderly people hospitalized for burns. The predominance was male (53.65%), with a mean age of 65.4 years, the domestic environment was the most frequent place where the accidents occurred, the flame being the main etiology. The mean hospitalization rate was 19.45 days and the death rate was 33.85%. CONCLUSION: This study shows the importance of encouraging productions in this area, due to the scarcity of literature on the subject in Brazil. It is also important that you invest in accident prevention campaigns with the elderly, especially in the domestic environment, in order to avoid them and provide an improvement in the quality of life of this population.