Profile of Death in Burn Cases: A Post-mortem Study

Abstract

Deaths due to fire or burns usually result from application of dry heat to the body. In India there are several thousands of deaths occurring due to fire or burns. Unfortunately vast majority of these cases occur in the home and are due to smoking, defective electrical wiring, defective kerosene stove bursts, attempted suicides by self-immolation, homicidal burns of young women by husband or in-laws (Dowry deaths/bride burning). The present study was based on retrospective analysis of burn cases in the period from January 2013 to December 2013 from autopsies done in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, SAIMS Medical College & PG Institute, Indore, M.P. It was observed that more than half of the victims died of burn injuries were married women. Females are mostly involved in cooking and most common cause is accidental burn. Burns having total body surface area (TBSA) more than 40% were fatal. The different aspects of burn deaths are analyzed and discussed in detail.