Epidemiology of Burn Injuries at a Newly Established Burn Care Center in Rasht

Abstract

BackgroundAdvances in the care of burn injuries have resulted from the efforts of regional patient-based specialist teams at burn care centers.ObjectivesWe conducted this study to assess the four-year epidemiology of burn injuries in Rasht, Iran.Materials and MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, medical records of 2274 burn patients, treated at Velayat hospital from January 2007 to December 2010 in Rasht, Iran, were assessed. Age, sex, level of education, occupation, severity and degree of burn, burn surface area, burn cause and outcome of patients were evaluated.ResultsIn our study the overall mortality rate was 8.7%; 65.7% of patients were men and 34.3% were women. Mean age of patients was 31.47 ± 22.67 years. Mean Total Burn Surface Area (TBSA) was 15.24 ± 18.4. Lowest TBSA was 0.5% and highest TBSA was 100%. Significant associations were observed between age (P = 0.0001), place of residence (P = 0.004), level of education (P = 0.0001), unemployment (P = 0.0001), marital status (P = 0.021), causes of burn (P = 0.0001), TBSA (P = 0.0001) and mortality rate. In our study, no significant difference was observed between age and sex (P = 0.071).ConclusionsDue to high prevalence of burn injuries in Iran, increasing the level of awareness of the society as well as adhering to safety procedures both at home and workplace is recommended via implementing effective national safety policies.

Medico-legal Aspects of Burned Cases Admitted to Burn Unit in Tanta University Hospital

“…Moreover, all suicidal cases were presented with more than 60% TBSA. These findings were in agreement with Alavi et al, (2012) who found that intentional burn was significantly related to higher TBSA among cases admitted to Rasht Burn Unit, Iran. Othman, (2010) stated that self inflicted burns were usually deeper and more extensive.…”

“…This figure was just like that reported by Hassen et al, (2010) in Assuit University Hospital Burn Unit. This could be attributed to the fact that the vast majority of burn victims were children in the current study that spent most of the day at home being at high risk of burn injury (Alavi et al, 2012). Conversely, Zarei et al, (2011) in Tehran, Iran reported that work related burns constituted (21.7%) of all burned cases.…”

“…These results were similar to those reported by Othman (2010) in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. This could be explained on the basis that, females are more involved in domestic burn injuries, especially in rural areas, where the sources of both flame and scald burns are usually present and available for them as a method for suicide (Alavi et al, 2012). On the other hand, El-Zuway and Heshmat , (2007) reported that suicidal attempts were equal in males and females among cases admitted to Al-Jala Hospital, Benghazi, Libya.…”

“…It was observed that the majority of accidental and suicidal cases were rural (62.5% and 80% respectively). The lack of individual safety precautions in rural areas, illiteracy and low socioeconomic standards of living raises the incidence of both intentional and non intentional burns (Alavi et al, 2012).…”

Epidemiology and Mortality of Burn Injuries in Eastern Iran Since 2009: An analysis of 2115 Cases

“…Most flame burns were caused by oil. Among patients, 27% had multiple injuries; previous studies are in line with our study in this regard (9,36,46,(52)(53)(54).…”