Elsevier

Burns

Volume 37, Issue 3, May 2011, Pages 521-527
Burns

Prevention-oriented epidemiology of burns in Ardabil Provincial Burn Centre, Iran

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2010.09.013Get rights and content

Abstract

In preventing burns, it is essential to know how they occur and which population groups, environments and heating appliances can be targeted for prevention work. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological characteristics of burns leading to hospitalisation in the northwest of Iran with a focus on the pre-event phase of injury. Between 2007 and 2008, 237 burn victims hospitalised in Ardabil provincial burn centre were enrolled into a descriptive study. A questionnaire was filled in during hospital stay for all patients, with a focus on obtaining information necessary for prevention purposes. Males constituted 56% of victims. Mean age was 22 years. The most severe burns occurred between the ages of 18 and 32 years, and were mainly flame related. Both in case of flame and non-flame burns, women suffered more severe burns and mortality than men. However, with respect to non-flame burns of which most were scalds, the majority of the severe cases involved children under the age of 5 years. More than 80% of burns occurred at home. The kitchen was the main place of injury in 47% of cases, followed by living rooms in 28%. Nearly 45% of burns were scalds and 47% were flame burns. The main container was the samovar in 37%, followed by kettles in 32% and pots in 22%. The overturning of a container was the major mechanism of contact with hot liquids in 86%. Bumping into a container was the main scenario of a scald injury, constituting nearly 70% of the cases. The difference between flame and non-flame burns in the distribution of burns in extremities was not statistically significant, but head and neck burns were 3.7 times more likely to be caused by flame. The two most important injury patterns, more common among women, were getting burned while using a camping gas stove or while refilling the chamber of kerosene-burning appliances without first extinguishing them. Domestic burns among children and young women are a priority in injury-prevention programmes. Camping gas stoves, valors (traditional dual-purpose heating and cooking appliances) and samovars can be considered as target appliances for burn-specific home-safety-promotion efforts in this area or in similar settings.

Section snippets

Setting and participants

The study was conducted during an 18-month period in 2007–2008 at Fatemi Burn Centre, the provincial referral burn centre in Ardabil province, Northwest Iran. This centre receives burns from a population comprising nine districts, with a population of nearly 1 200 000 people.

In this study, 237 burn victims hospitalised in Ardabil provincial burn centre were enrolled. All burn victims hospitalised at Fatemi University Hospital were enrolled into this study, including early deaths, discharge or

Results

A rough estimation of yearly incidence was determined to be 1.32 by 10 000 person-years. Males constituted 55.7% of victims. Mean age was 21.6 years (95% CI: 19–24.3). Mean and median of age for males were 20.3 and 14.5 years, respectively. Mean and median of age for females were 23.3 and 19 years, respectively. Mean and median of TBSA burned were 20.5% and 15%, respectively. The median TBSA burned was 16.5% (IQR = 18) for females and 15% (IQR = 12) for males, but the difference was not

Discussion

Mean and median TBSA in our study did not differ much from previous hospital-based studies outside Iran [4], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]. However, greater variation in this entity is reported in studies from Iran. For example, a study from a burn centre in Tehran reports a mean TBSA of 30.6%, while another study in a burn centre in Shiraz determines mean TBSA to be 7.4% [15], [16]. The relatively high figure from the Tehran study can be due to the fact that regional and capital burn centres

Conclusion

Domestic burns among children and young women need to be prioritised in injury-prevention programmes in this area or similar settings. Camping gas stoves, valors and samovars should be considered as important target appliances for burn-specific home safety promotion efforts in Ardabil or similar settings.

Conflict of interest statement

All authors have declared that there is no conflict of interest.

References (33)

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