Abstract
Introduction: Burn injury remains one of the biggest health concerns in the developing world. It has been regarded as a formidable public health issue in terms of mortality, morbidity and permanent disability. We aim to provide an overview of the basic epidemiological characteristics of burn patients admitted at a dedicated burn center in Chitwan, Nepal.
 Methods: This was a retrospective, hospital-based observational study conducted at Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital (CMCTH) burn ward from September 2017 to August 2019. Patients’ records from admission/discharge book, admission/discharge summaries as well as patient’s individual files were reviewed to obtain the necessary data. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes were statistically analyzed.
 Results: Among the 202 patients, the number of males slightly predominated that of females with a ratio of 1.02:1. The median age was 24 years, and the median total body surface area (TBSA) burned was 15%. Children less than 10 years comprised one third of all patients while more than one fifth were elderly. The commonest etiological factor was flame burn, closely followed by scald. The mortality rate was 12.38% for the period under review. Majority of the patients spent less than 10 days on admission and around one fifth needed surgical intervention aimed at earlier coverage. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that age, Body Mass Index (BMI) and total body surface area (TBSA) burnt were the major predictors of burn mortality.
 Conclusions: The outcome of burn injuries is poor. Appropriate preventive & therapeutic measures need to be taken in terms of social education & provision of quality healthcare to reduce the incidence & improve the survival outcome of burn patients which should focus on children and elderly especially during the winter season.
Highlights
Burn injury remains one of the biggest health concerns in the developing world
Thirty-nine percent of our patients were of pediatric age group (
Most burns are minor and are treated by primary care providers or pharmacists and do not come in contact with tertiary care hospitals and burn centers. Many of these cases heal without complications but complete healing in terms of cosmetic and functional outcome may be jeopardized in some unfortunate ones with larger and deeper burns, as it is often dependent on appropriate care, especially within the ¿UVWIHZKRXUVDQGGD\VDIWHUWKHEXUQ$VWXG\LQ7DLZDQ KDV VKRZQ WKDW DGHTXDWH ¿UVW DLG MXVW E\ ZDWHU FRROLQJ decreases the length of stay in cases with burn less than 30% total body surface area (TBSA).[5]
Summary
Burn injury remains one of the biggest health concerns in the developing world. It has been regarded as a formidable public health issue in terms of mortality, morbidity and permanent disability. According to WHO, burns are a global public health problem, accounting for an estimated 180,000 deaths annually (in 2018).[1] The majority of these occur in lowand middle-income countries and almost two thirds occur in the WHO African and South-East Asia regions. Burns are among the leading causes of disability-adjusted lifeyears (DALYs) lost in low- and middle-income countries and is the second most common injury in rural Nepal, accounting for 5% of disabilities.[1] For the treatment of Burns/Scalds, 55,090 patients visited the outpatient GHSDUWPHQWRIGL൵HUHQWKHDOWKFHQWHUVRI1HSDOLQWKH)LVFDO year (FY) 2074/2075 (2018/19 AD).[2] In the FY 2073/2074. Lack of a national burn registry has made this calculation even more exigent
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