For pediatric burn patients, a greater BMI at discharge was linked with improved self reported physical function (PF) 12 months after a burn injury, but not at 6 months or 24 months, according to a study published in Burns. Victoria G. Rontoyanni, PhD, and colleagues said their finding suggests a faster recovery of PF in pediatric burn patients who present with larger body weight. The study team conducted a retrospective multisite longitudinal study in young burn patients (N=118; aged 8-17). They evaluated outcome measures at 6, 12, and 24 months post-injury and included self-reported mobility, upper extremity PF, and proxy-reported mobility. When adjusted for burn size, BMI at discharge was not significantly linked with self-reported mobility scores at 6 months post-burn, had a positive effect on mobility at 12 months, and no effect at 24 months post-injury. Further more, BMI did not have a significant effect on upper extremity PF or proxy-reported mobility.
