Inhalation burn. Statistical study of flame-burned patients and deaths resulting from burns in Japan

Abstract

I N T R O D U C T I O N STATISTICALLY observed data concerning the frequency of burn injuries in Japan-the causes, the age and sex incidence of burned pat ientshave been reported at the Third International Congress on Burn Injuries held at Prague (O'Ya and Fukuda, 1971). Though the mortality rate of burned patients has decreased, the burn injuries themselves have increased and the number of deaths has increased (Fig. 1). As Phillips and Cope (1962) have mentioned the inhalation burn had been accepted as the main cause for the high mortality rate caused by burns if the injury happened in a fire inside a building or in a subway, causing mass burn casualties. Epistein et al. (1963), Moncrief (1965) and Stone et al. (1967) indicated three important factors which may cause inhalation burn. 1. Facial burn. 2. Burn injury inside a closed place. 3. Burns by flame or fire. Thus we tried to investigate statistically those factors which are involved in the incidence of inhalation burns in Japan. 1. The cause of the burn injuries. 2. Those burn injuries caused by fire which have a close relation to the burn mortality, this being divided into two aspects: a. In what situation the patient got the burn. b. The injured part of a severely burned patient. 3. We also studied the official report of the Japanese Fire Defence Forces on the occurrence of fires which result in mass casualties. 150 ~.. , a. Trat~c accident