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Epidemiology and Outcome of Burn Patients in POF Hospital Wah Cantt Objective: To investigate the epidemiology of various causations, mode and outcomes in terms of morbidity and mortality in burn patients. Study Design: Prospective descriptive study. Place and Duration: Burn unit, POF Hospital Wah Cantt from July 2006 to June 2007. Patients and Methods: All burn cases (n=226) admitted to the burns unit over a period of one year were included. The data regarding sex, age predisposition, geographical origin, mode and nature of injury were obtained by questionnaire-interview with the patient themselves. Clinical assessment was done in the form of total body surface area burnt, depth & extent of injury and its complications. Treatment given in hospital and outcome was recorded. In case of mortality, again various factors like age, sex and cause of death were analyzed. The data was analyzed by SPSS 11.0 version. Results: Burns were found more commonly in young adults, 10 to 30 year age group. The incidence was more in males (55.3%). 68.6% burns were domestic, with cooking being the most prevalent activity. Most of the cases of burn were accidental. Flame burns were the commonest burns (41%) followed by scalds (33%), electrical (11%) and chemicals (7%). Scalds were common in children. Daily washes, dressing and debridement with systemic and local antibiotics were done in 124 patients. 31 patients needed skin grafting and 13 were referred to specialized plastic surgery units. Death occurred in 21% of cases with septicemia and disseminated intravascular coagulation as the leading causes. When using logistic regression analysis, the outcome of the burn injury was significantly associated with degree, depth, extent and mode of injury. Conclusion: This series provides an overview of the most important aspects of burn injuries for hospital and non-hospital healthcare workers. Most of the deep burns are accidental, seen in younger age group as a result of flame burns, and occupational accidents and are preventable. The effective treatment, infection control and adequate surgical treatment improves outcome. So measures should be taken to provide proper education to prevent these accidents and ensure safety. Keywords: Burns, Outcome, Epidemiology Introduction Injuries represent one of the most important public health problems faced by both developing and industrialized nations today. |
Zafar Iqbal Malik* M A Nasir Malik ** Asma Razzaq*** Muhammad Usman Ahmed**** Omer Salahuddin***** Muhammad Azhar***** Aashi Ahmad******
*Assistant Professor of Surgery, Wah Medical College, POF Hospital, Wah Cantt **Associate Professor, POF Hospital Wah Cantt *** Classified Child Specialist, POF Hospital Wah Cantt **** Assistant Professor of ENT, Wah Medical College, POF Hospital, Wah Cantt ***** PG trainee Surgery POF Hospital Wah Cantt ***** PG trainee Surgery POF Hospital Wah Cantt ****** Community Medicine Wah Medical College Wah Cantt
Burns and scalds are a common presentation to many of our health institutions and form 5-12 % of all trauma.1 Injuries may be intentional or non-intentional but intent is sometimes difficult to determine for injuries such as burns. Burns represent an extremely stressful experience for both the burn victims as well as their families. An extensive burn profoundly affects the patient's physique, psyche, financial situation and family. Patients who suffer from extensive burn injuries frequently die, while others suffer from painful physical recovery. In addition to their dramatic physical effects, burn injuries frequently cause deleterious psychological complications. Developing countries have a high incidence of burn injuries and management of burn remains a challenge, creating a formidable public health problem. The exact number of cases is difficult to determine: however in a country like Pakistan, with a population of over 150 million, we would estimate 100,000 to 150,000 burn admissions annually. Most of the burn incidents occur in domestic settings because of house hold appliances, inflammable agents at home, and clothing burns and in some cases also self inflicted.2 In different communities the etiological factor of burn injuries varies considerably, hence a careful analysis of the epidemiological factors in every community is needed before the planning and implementation of a sound prevention program. No statistical figures are exactly known here.3 Hence this study was conducted to identify the demographic aspects of burn patients, to investigate the factors affecting outcome and mortality of burns and to determine the magnitude of the problem of burn among all injuries admitted in POF hospital Wah Cantt over a period of one year (2006-2007).
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