Return to work after burn injury.

The research literature suggests but does not test the hypothesis that differential factors determine when a patient will return to work after serious burn injury. In this study, factors influencing time before return to work after serious burn injury were investigated prospectively as part of a large burn research project. Sixty-five patients with burns who had returned to work were followed. Several variables were examined, including percent total body surface area burned, total percent of partial-thickness burn, total percent of full-thickness burn, duration of treatment, payment source for treatment, sex, race, type of burn, and age. The most significant predictor of time before return to work was percent total body surface area burned, followed by percent body surface area with full-thickness burns, percent body surface area with partial-thickness burns, and number of weeks of treatment, respectively. Sufficient data were available to develop a regression equation to specifically predict time before return to work. The data presented here are useful in informing patients, families, employers, and health-funding agencies as to the probable delay before return to work that can be expected after serious burn injury. In particular, predictability refinements are possible with the regression equation developed in this study.