Epidemiology of burn patients in Emam Reza Hospital, Birjand, 1998- 2002

Burn injuries still produce a significant morbidity and mortality in Iran and other countries. This cross-sectional study was carried out to find the epidemiology of burn patients admitted to Birjand Emam Reza Hospital burn unit. Medical records of 342 patients were assessed for demographic and burn characteristic data. The results indicated that the 13.7% of the patients were hospitalized with a mean age of 23.1 years, and 55.6% of them were men. The mean BBS (Body Burn Surface) and mortality rates were higher in females. Most of the burn injuries were caused by domestic accidents (83.9%). Self-inflicted burns were higher in females (63.9%) and in 10-30 years old patients. There was significant correlation between mortality rate and age groups, gender as well as BBS (p<0.001). Among the prognostic factors in our study, self-inflicting (O.R:12.2608; CI:4.2600-35.2884) and BBS more than 40% (O.R:31.6546; CI:13.7134-73.0682) were identified as strong predisposings to death. Regarding to high-risk groups (children and young adults), prognostic factors and high mortality rate (%29.8) in burn patients, implementation of public educational programs for prevention and continuos education for care provider teams are essential.