Burns in Kosovo: Epidemiological and therapeutic aspects of burns treated in University Clinical Center of Kosovo during the period 2003–2012

Abstract

BackgroundBurns in Kosovo are a major cause of injury and which demand very high economic and social costs. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological and terapeutical aspects of burn patients treated in the Department of Plastic Surgery and in the Intensive Care Unit in Pristina, Kosovo. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed all patients treated in the Department of Plastic Surgery and in the Intensive Care Unit during the period 2003–2012. ResultsOf the 1412 burn patients admitted from 2003 to 2012, 133 patients with a large burned surface area were treated in the ICU, and the other 1279 patients were treated in the Department of Plastic Surgery. Of all patients, 66.6% (941) were male and 33.4% (471) were female, with an average age of 41.5 years, ranging from 1 to 83 years old. According to age, we found that most cases were children, respectively, 52.9% (747) cases, while adults were 47.1% (665) cases. The present age-group was 0–5 in 41.8% of cases, while other age-groups rarely. Of all patients treated in our department, only 19.3% (272) were treated surgically, the rest, 76.3% (1077) were treated conservatively. During this ten-year study period, 2.6% (37) patients died (in the intensive care unit died 27.8%). From the analysis of the deceased patients, it was found that 64.9% (24) were male, and 35.1% (13) were female; 54% (20) were children, and 46% (17) were adults. ConclusionsIn Kosovo, high-risk groups are children up to five (1–5) years and men. The data suggest that the incineration injuries are more frequent and they could be reduced by improving the socio-economic level of the population and creating preventive strategies.