Early onset pneumonia in patients with severely burned face and neck: a 5-year retrospective study

Patients with face and neck burns (FNBs) often undergo prehospital intubation, or sustain inhalation injury which are risk factors for pneumonia in specific populations. Early onset pneumonia (EOP) might be caused by initial management. The primary goal of this study was to find risk factors for EOP in FNB patients. This is a retrospective, single-center trial. We screened all FNB patients for EOP with the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score. Pneumonia diagnosis was with culture from a mini broncho-alveolar lavage. Potential risk factors for EOP were recorded. We included 152 patients, EOP was diagnosed in 58 (38.2%). EOP patients had a greater burned surface area median (20±17% vs. 10±17%; p