Epidemiology of burns in Iran during the last decade (2000–2010): review of literature and methodological considerations

Abstract

The approach to burn prevention, to be effective in a particular area, should be based on sound knowledge of etiological patterns of burns injuries and must take into account the geographical variations and socioeconomic differences in burn epidemiology. Although many articles are published on burns epidemiology in Iran, a holistic view of burn epidemiology in Iran is not well presented in literature. In this study, a wide literature review was made on articles published regarding burns injuries in Iran. Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, and Iranian scientific information (SID) databases were searched for information on epidemiology of burns in Iran during the years 2000–2010. During the investigation we found that few Farsi journals were not indexed in SID during the earlier years of the decade, so to increase the chance of capturing necessary information these were checked by hand. As the second source, available data from the Iranian National Home Injury Registry Database (INHIRD) during two Iranian calendar years in the period 2001–2003 were used to extract necessary information. The results of this review helped in defining the magnitude of the burns problem, exploring the role of gender and age in burns, defining the agents causing burns, burn extent, burn mortality and place of injury occurrence. Some areas with paucity of information as well as methodological pitfalls in published research were identified and discussed.

Introduction

Injuries are an increasingly recognised public health problem, substantially affecting nearly every population and every geographical zone in the world. Burns have always been considered as one of the most destructive injuries, causing not only deaths but also major economic and psychological impacts and long-term somatic sequelae as well [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. Burns are an important cause of injury to young children, being the third most frequent cause of injury resulting in death behind motor vehicle accidents and drowning. Burns injuries account for the greatest length of stay of all hospital admissions for injuries [6]. According to the World Health Organization, 238,000 individuals died of fire-related burns in 2000, and 95% of these deaths occurred in low and middle-income countries [7]. The approach to burn prevention, to be effective in a particular area, should be based on sound knowledge of etiological patterns of burns injuries and must take into account the geographical variations and socioeconomic differences in burn epidemiology [8], [9]. Some preventive measures have been shown to be quite effective in reducing burns. Nevertheless, most of the evidence comes from high-income countries. This is while the patterns and risks of burns can be quite different in low and middle income countries (LMICs), and few of these interventions are readily transferable to LMICs [10]. During the last decade, many articles have been published about burns in Iran. Some of these are published in international journals and some in national or regional journals. However, a rounded view of burn epidemiology in Iran is not provided in the literature. The aim of this article was to map out some epidemiological aspects of burns in Iran through a systematic review of available information in this regard. In addition, the study aimed to improve understanding of readers regarding methodological issues in articles published about epidemiology of burns in Iran, and generally discuss some major methodological concerns in published Iranian articles.