Thermal Burn Deaths: A Retrospective Study on Female Victims in Bihar

Abstract

Introduction: Burns are medicolegally importance as they are commonest cause of unnatural death in India. Burn is an important factor in suicide and homicide all over world. Burns remain a significant public health problem in low/middle-income countries, contributing to substantial morbidity and mortality Aims &Objectives: To find out how thermal burn affect incidence, age, habitat, marital status, manner of death and its medico legal consequence. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital during 2014 to 2018 to assess the pattern of burn deaths amongst females brought for Medico-legal Autopsy from various police stations of Patna district under F.M.T department of N.M.C, Patna in the State of Bihar. Total 540 female burn cases brought for autopsy were included in study. Results: The highest numbers of victims were in the age group of 21 to 30 years (42.23%). Majority of the cases were from rural areas 75.19% and 81.85% of the victims were married. Mostly manner of death is accidental 57.40%. Majority of the burn victims death of the studied case were Hindu. Conclusion: Married females of productive age group belonging to rural areas are worst affected in burn injuries. Awareness campaigns targeting safety precautions, opportunities for basic health education and a change in mindset of society towards females are necessary to curb this menace of burn injuries. Keywords: Burn, Female, Nature of Death, Bihar.