OBJECTIVES: Burns are a cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with substantial socioeconomic impact and a constant public health concern. This study is dedicated to evaluating the incidence and severity of acute burn injuries in Austria in the period from 2020 to 2022 with special consideration of the place of residence of the affected persons in relation to the location of the hospital visited.

METHODS: The complete national hospital billing database, filtered for acute burn cases, was provided by “Statistik Austria” for the defined period. The places of residence of the affected persons were georeferenced and related to the location of the treating hospital.

RESULTS: In Austria, a total of 1,448 cases of second- or third-degree burns to the body surface were registered as the main diagnosis between 2020 and 2022 (2020: 562, 2021: 452, 2022: 434). The anatomical breakdown of injury localization was head and neck: 12.9%, torso: 22.8%, shoulder and arm: 12.1%, hand: 21.6%, hip: 18.4%, foot and ankle 12.2%. Age structure <15y: 44.3%; 15y-65y: 39.7%; >65y: 16.0%. Proportion of patients who were treated in their own federal state and hospitalized patients per 100,000 inhabitants: Burgenland: 66.2%; 3.0, Carinthia: 96.0%; 8.8, Lower Austria: 66.1%; 7.4, Upper Austria: 92.6%; 12.5, Salzburg: 93.8%; 5.6, Styria: 96.3%; 6.4, Tyrol: 95.3%; 5.6, Vorarlberg: 100.0%; 8.6, Vienna: 84.2%;3.6. 18.0% of Austrian patients were treated in another state. Treated non-Austrian citizens were 5.2% of those 37.1% in Tyrol, followed by 17.1% in Vienna.

CONCLUSIONS: Acute burn injuries in Austria present a considerable healthcare challenge. By integrating geographical analyses, it is possible to show the cross-provincial supply in Austria. There are clear differences between states in exclusivity of caring for their populations, but there is also partly an exchange across borders. Further research should focus on possible advantages of a centralized burn care system.