ABSTRACT
Epidemiology O f the 2-3 million thermal injuries that occur in the United States each year,
approximately 100,000 require hospital admission to a burn unit. Furthermore, 3,000-6,000 people die as a direct result of thermal injury in this country. Although thermally injured patients require 1-1.5 days in the hospital per percent total body surface area (TBSA) burned, this period only represents a small fraction of the total treatment for these patients which also includes rehabilitation and physical therapy, reconstruction and readaptation.
