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  • The Internet Journal of Plastic Surgery
  • Volume 8
  • Number 1

Original Article

Etiological And Demographic Profile Of Burn Injury In Kashmir Valley

M Mir, S Anjum, R Mir, G Sheikh, M Mir, F Reshi

Keywords

accidental, burn injury, flame burn, homicidal, scald, suicidal

Citation

M Mir, S Anjum, R Mir, G Sheikh, M Mir, F Reshi. Etiological And Demographic Profile Of Burn Injury In Kashmir Valley. The Internet Journal of Plastic Surgery. 2012 Volume 8 Number 1.

Abstract


Background: Changing trends in etiology and demography of burn injury due to mechanization and modernization of society of Kashmir.
Purpose: To evaluate the etiological and demographic profile of burn injury in Kashmir valley.
Material and methods: A prospective study on 1000 consecutive patients admitted in the burn unit was conducted over a period of five years. A data collected after detailed history with regard to age, sex, residence, type, cause and place of burn, and a thorough general and systemic examination. Estimation of the burn surface area was done as per the Lund-Browder chart and the clinical assessment of the depth was carried out. Data collected was tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis.
Results: The mean age of patients was 21.91±11.54 years. 79% patients were from rural and 21% from urban dwellings. Females (59%) were more commonly affected than males (41%). The most common type of burn were flame burn in 72% of cases followed by, scald in 22%. The most common place of burn was home 87% followed by workplace in 10% of cases, 87% of burn occurred accidently, 9% suicidal and 4% were homicidal in nature.
Conclusion: We conclude that accidental flame burn injury is more common in Kashmiri rural young women who have more domestic involvement and spend most of time near fire.

 

Introduction

Fire was, perhaps, man’s first double-edged sword, for, throughout history, it has both served and destroyed mankind. From time to time, fire leapt out at man and caused what remains today one of the most painful of human experiences, the burn. A burn occurs when some or all of the different layers of cells in the skin are destroyed by a hot liquid (scald), a hot solid (contact burns) or a flame (flame burns). Skin injuries due to ultraviolet radiation, radioactivity, electricity or chemicals, as well as respiratory damage resulting from smoke inhalation, are also considered as burns. The injury represents an assault on all aspects of the patient, from the physical to the psychological. It affects all ages, from babies to elderly people, and is a problem in both the developed and developing world. All of us have experienced the severe pain that even a small burn can bring. However the pain and distress caused by a large burn are not limited to the immediate event. The visible physical and the invisible psychological scars are long lasting and often lead to chronic disability. Burns are a major problem in the developing world. Over two million burn injuries are thought to occur each year in India (population 500 million), but this may be a substantial underestimate. Mortality in the developing world is much higher than in the developed world. Most burns are due to flame injuries. Burns due to scalds are the next most common. The most infrequent burns are those caused by electrocution and chemical injuries.1 Burns and death due to burns continue to remain an important public health and social problem in India. The incidence is particularly high among the ‘‘young married females’‘2,3 belonging to lower socio-economic groups4.

Material and methods

This prospective study was conducted over a period of five years from 1 st June 2006 to 31 st May 2011 in the Department of Surgery Government Medical College on 1000 consecutive patients admitted in the burn unit. A detailed history was taken with regard to age, sex, residence, type, cause and place of burn, and a thorough general and systemic examination was performed and appropriate investigations were done as required. Estimation of the burn surface area was done as per the Lund-Browder chart and the clinical assessment of the depth was carried out. Data collected was tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis.

Results

The mean age of patients was 21.91±11.54 years. The youngest patient was 8 months and the oldest was 60 years of age and 92.30% patients were in the age group of 16-30 years.

79% patients were from rural and 21% from urban dwellings. Females (59%) were more commonly affected than males (41%) as shown in table 1. The most common place of burn was home 87% followed by workplace in 10% of cases (table 2), 87% of burn occurred accidently, 9% suicidal and 4% were homicidal in nature (table 3). The most common type of burn were flame burn in 72% of cases followed by, scald in 22% (table 4). Flame burn was most common in all age groups except in children of age less than 15 years in whom scald was most common (table 5).

Figure 1
Table 1: Demographic Profile

Figure 2
Table 2: Distribution of patients with respect to place of burn

Figure 3
Table 3: Distribution of patients with respect to cause of burn

Figure 4
Table 4: Distribution of Patients with respect to type of Burn

Figure 5
Table 5: Type of Burn with respect to Age

Discussion

In our study majority of patients were found in the age group of 16 to 30 years (n-52) with mean age of 21.91 and standard deviation of ± 11.546. Ranging from 0.8 years to maximum of 60 years. Our observation are in concordance with those of Abdul Rahim khan et al5 who in their study had observed 20 to 30 years as most common age group affected. Ashish K Jaiswa L et al6 who found 31.5 % of patients between age group of 21 to 30 yrs, with mean age of 23.95 S D of 16.7 Ashraf et al7 had most cases around 40 yrs of age with mean of 22.95 S.D of 16.7, ranging from 6 to 81 yrs. Zorgani et al8 had found 64.9% of patients below 30 years of age. Ali Reza Ekrami et al9 in their study had observed mean age of burn patient was 19.3 SD ± 17.05 .This may be explained on the basis that younger age group is more involved in day to day activities both at home and work place , as compared to children and elderly and hence are more susceptible to accidental burn.

In our study females 59% were more commonly affected than males 41%. This is in concordance with reports in the literature. S Ramcharan et al10 in their study had found females 57.1% while as males 42.9%. Ashish K Jaiswal et al6 in their study had found females 70.3% and males 29.7%, Anuradha Rajput et al11 in their study had found females in 60% and males in 40%. This female sex preponderance could be possibly because of their more domestic involvement as they tend to spend most of time near fire.

In our study majority of patients 79% were from rural background while as only 21% from urban dwellings, Ashish K et al6 in their study had found 67.3% of females and 58% of males from rural background which are consistent with our observations.

In our study (87%) of burn occurred at home and (10 %) at work place and (3%) at other places. Our finding are consistent with the studies of Ashraf et al7 who in their study had found home (91.4%) as the most common place of burn, S Ramacharan et al10 who in their study had observed (62%) of burn occurring at home and Ashish K Jaiswal et al6 who also had observed home (85%) as most common place of burn.

In present study the most common cause of burn was accident (87%), the second common cause was suicidal (9%) and homicidal (4%) Arife Polat et al12 also had observed 87% of burn injury to be accidental in nature and Ashraf F et al7 in their study had observed 89.1% of burn injury as un intentional, suicidal 4.3% and homicidal 2.6%.

In our study 72 patients (72%) had flame burns, 22 (22%) had scald burn, a significant association was also observed between age and type of burn. Flame burn were more common in adults while as (62.06%) of burn in children were scalds. These findings are consistent with reports in literature by Ashraf F et al7, Zorgani A et al8, Ashish K Jaiswal et al6 who had reported the similar findings in their studies.

The most common age group injured, most common sex injured and most common cause of burn observed in our study are also correlating with most of the studies published by authors as shown in table 6.

Figure 6
Table 6

Conclusion

We concluded in our study that accidental flame burn injury is more common in Kashmiri rural young women who have more domestic involvement and spend most of time near fire.

References

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2. Jayaraman V, Ramakrishnan KM, Davies MR. Burns in Madras, India: an analysis of 1368 patients in 1 year. Burns 1993; 19: 334–9.
3. Chaurasia AR. Mortality from burns in developing countries. Burns 1982; 9: 184.
4. Sharma BR, Harish D, Sharma V. Kitchen accidents viz-a-viz dowry deaths. Burns 2002; 28: 250–3.
5. Ab Rahim Khan ,Naheed Fatima, zia ud din Afridi, Basharat Ali Khan Prevalence of various pathogens and their sensitivity pattern in patients with burn at a tertiary care hospital J.Med.Sci. July 2008;16(2): 64-67.
6. Ashish K Jaiswal, Himanshu Aggarwal, Pooja Solanki, PS Lubana, RK Mathur, Sudarshan Odiya. Epidemiological and socio-cultural study of burn patients in M. Y. Hospital, Indore, India. Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery , 2007; 40(2): 158-163.
7. Ashraf F. Attia, Aida A. Sherif, Ahmed M. Mandil, M. Nabil Massoud, Mervat W. Abou-Nazel and Moustafa A. Arafa. Epidemiological and socio-cultural study of burn patients in Alexandria, Egypt. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 1997,3(3): 452-461.
8. Zorgani A, Zaidi M, Franka R, Shahen A.The pattern and outcome in a burns intensive care unit. Burns and Plastic Surgery Hospital, Tripoli, Libya. Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters , December 2002,15(4):179
9. Alireza Ekrami and Enayat Kalantar. Bacterial infections in burn patients at a burn hospital in Iran. Indian J Med Res December 2007,126: 541-544.
10. S. Ramcharan, S. Dass, S. Romany, F. Mohammed, T. Ali, M. Ragbir Epidemiology Of Adult Burns In North Trinidad . The Internet Journal of Third World Medicine 2003; 1(1).
11. Anuradha Rajput K.P.Singh, Vijay Kumar, Rishi Sexena, R.K.Singh. Antibacterial resistance of aerobic bacteria isolates from burn patients in tertiary care hospital. Biomedical Research 2008; 19 (1):1-4
12. Arife Polat Düzgün, MD, Emrah fienel, MD, M. Mahir Özmen, MD Hakan Kulaço⁄lu, MD, Yusuf IfiIK, MD, Faruk Cofikun, MD. Evaluation of the patients admitted to a burn center in turkey. Turkish Journal of Trauma & Emergency Surgery Ulus Travma Derg. Oct 2003; 9(4): 250-256.
13. M. Gupta , O.K. Gupta, R.K. Yaduvanshi et al . Burn epidemiology: The pink city scene. Burns, February 1993;19(1): 47-51.
14. Abdolaziz Rastegar Lari, Reza Alaghehbandan, Rahmatollah Nikui et al. Epidemiological study of 3341 burns patients during three years in Tehran, Iran, Burns; February 2000;26(1):49-53
15. Mohammad-Reza Panjeshahin, Abdolaziz Rastegar Lari, Ali-Reza Talei et al . Epidemiology and mortality of burns in the South West of Iran. Burns 2001; 27(3): 219-226
16. Gaurav Mukerji, , Shobha Chamania , G.P. Patidar, Saurabh Gupta. Epidemiology of paediatric burns in Indore, India Burns 2001, 27(1): 33-38
17. Mostafa Saada. Epidemiology and mortality of hospitalized burn patients in Kohkiluye va Boyerahmad province (Iran): 2002–2004; Burns May 2005;31(3 )3: 306-309

Author Information

Mohd Altaf Mir, (MS)
Registrar, Department of General Surgery, Govt. Medical College

Shahid Anjum, (MS)
Registrar, Department of General Surgery, Govt. Medical College

Riyaz A Mir, (MD)
Registrar, Department of General Surgery, Govt. Medical College

G.M. Sheikh, (MS)
Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, Govt. Medical College

Mushtaq A Mir, (MS, Mch (Plastic surgery))
Assistant Professor, Department of General Surgery, Govt. Medical College

Farooq A Reshi
Professor, Department of General Surgery, Govt. Medical College

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