Baux score
Encyclopedia
The Baux score is a system used by medical professionals to predict the chance of mortality due to a patient suffering severe burn
Burn
A burn is an injury to flesh caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction.Burn may also refer to:*Combustion*Burn , type of watercourses so named in Scotland and north-eastern England...

s. The score is an index which takes in to account the correlative and causal relationship between mortality and factors including advancing age, burn size, the presence of inhalational injury. Studies have shown that the Baux score is highly correlative with length of stay in hospital due to burns and final outcome.

Original method

The original Baux score was the addition of two factors, the first being the total body surface area
Total body surface area
Total body surface area is an assessment measure of burns of the skin. In adults, the "rule of nines" is used to determine the total percentage of area burned for each major section of the body...

 affected by burning (usually estimated using the rule of nines, or calculated using Lund & Browder charts) and the second being the age of the patient.

When added together, the score is a comparative indicator of burn severity, with a score over 140 indicated as being unsurvivable.

Modified method

Research demonstrated that with improvements in in medical care rendered the original method too pessimistic in its outcome prediction. This resulted in the publication of a modified methodology which took in to account the effect of inhalation injury. It was found that inhalation injury resulted in a increase of around 17 on the Baux score, and this addition means that a patient with inhalation injury would have their score calculated by body area affected + age of patient + 17.

Efficacy

Studies have shown Baux score to be effective in measuring comparative severity of burn injuries, and in predicting the prognosis for the patient. The modified version, which includes inhalation injuries, is more accurate than the original method, although neither method is as accurate as more complex calculated scores using advanced computer modelling.

The Baux score has been shown to be effective in predicting outcome in 87% of presenting patients.
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