OBJECTIVES: Indian healthcare system lacks a harmonized compendium of the published literature regarding humanistic and economic burden of burn wounds. The objective of the current review was to synthesize evidence pertaining to the humanistic and economic burden of burn wounds from published literature, and identify unmet medical needs to aid evidence based clinical decision making.

METHODS: MEDLINE including conference proceedings was systematically searched, pairing keywords for burn wounds with clinical outcomes, to identify English-language articles published for clinical studies carried out in India pertaining to burn wounds. The included studies were critically appraised using Newcastle Ottawa scale (NOS) for quality assessment.

RESULTS: Data elements from published literature showed average cost of therapy for patients, could be under US$ 2,000 in patients suffering burn injuries. A bimodal distribution of burn injuries with the peak incidence in children <5 years and people aged 26 to 35 years was observed, indicating burn wounds impact the productive age. Anxiety and depression leading to impaired quality of life are a major facet of psychological impairment in patients suffering burn wounds. This phenomenon is significantly high in patients of low socioeconomic status. The major cost drivers included medications and consumables, dressing material, investigations, blood products, dietary costs, and salaries of all personnel. The socio-economic burden of burn injuries is very high and government support is the need of the hour. The quality of evidence across studies was moderate as per NOS (5 to 7 stars).

CONCLUSIONS: The published literature indicates that the cost data for burn wounds in India is sketchy. Furthermore, there is discernible unmet need in the care pathways for burn wound management in India.