Analysis of 1089 burn patients in province of Kurdistan, Iran

Abstract

Burn injuries still produce a significant morbidity and mortality in Iran. This study was carried out to analyze the epidemiology, mortality, and current etiological factors of 1089 burn patients in the province of Kurdistan in the west of Iran during the 6 years from 21 March 1994 to 20 March 2000. There were two burn centers in Kurdistan, serving 1.4 million people in an area of 28,000 km 2. The incidence rate of burn hospitalization was 13.5 per 100,000 person-years. The median age was 18 years with 58% of the patients under 20 years. The median Body Surface Area (BSA) burned was 40%. Incidence rate of burns for females was 18 per 100,000 person-years and 9.1 per 100,000 person-years for males ( P (2)<0.000001). Also there was a statistically significant association between mortality rate and age groups/gender/BBS ( P (2)<0.000001). Flame was the most common type of burn (694/1089, 63.7%). There was also a significant correlation between the age groups and types of burn ( P (2)<0.000001). Ninety-one percent (991/1089) of the burns were unintentional (12.3 per 100,000 person-years), while suicide attempts by burning for the population aged 13 and older accounted for 12.7% (98/771) (2 per 100,000 person-years). The mortality rate was 4.5 per 100,000 person-years. The study results provide a valuable baseline by which to assess future efforts directed toward the prevention of burn injuries in Kurdistan.