# Predictors of household direct cost of burn injury in adult patients at a tertiary healthcare facility in Ghana: an analytical cross-sectional study in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

## TL;DR

This study examines the costs of treating burn injuries in Ghana and identifies factors like burn severity and hospital stay length that influence these costs.

## Contribution

The study provides novel insights into predictors of burn treatment costs in a Ghanaian healthcare setting.

## Key findings

- The mean total cost of burn treatment was GHS 22,333.15 (USD 3,897.58).
- Burn severity and hospital stay length were significant predictors of treatment costs.
- Surgical treatment was the largest cost component, accounting for 45.6% of total expenses.

## Abstract

treatment of severe burn injury generally requires enormous human and material resources including specialized intensive care, staged surgery, and continued restoration. This contributes to the enormous burden on patients and their families. The cost of burn treatment is influenced by many factors including the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patient. This study aimed to determine the costs of burn care and its associated predictive factors in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana.

an analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 65 consenting adult patients on admission at the Burns Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients as well as the direct cost of burns treatment were obtained. Multiple regression analysis was done to determine the predictors of the direct cost of burn care.

a total of sixty-five (65) participants were enrolled in the study with a male-to-female ratio of 1.4: 1 and a mean age of 35.9 ± 14.6 years. Nearly 85% sustained between 10-30% total body surface area burns whilst only 6.2% (4) had burns more than 30% of total body surface area. The mean total cost of burns treatment was GHS 22,333.15 (USD 3,897.58). Surgical treatment, wound dressing and medication charges accounted for 45.6%, 27.5% and 9.8% of the total cost of burn respectively.

the direct costs of burn treatment were substantially high and were predicted by the percentage of total body surface area burn and length of hospital stay.