Study of profile of fatal burn cases at a tertiary care center of Haryana

Among the various types of the trauma, injuries due to burns the fourth most common type of trauma worldwide, following road traffic accidents; falls and interpersonal violence. Injuries due to burns are a major social, economic and public-health problem due to their mortality, morbidity and long term disability. This study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital of Haryana to assess the pattern of burn deaths over 50 cases of burns brought for the post-mortem examination. In this study, the majority of burn deaths were observed in the age group of 2-30 years age group (34%), followed by 31-40 years age group (24%). Female preponderance was seen with male to female ratio 1:1.4. Most of the cases were from rural area (64%). In both sexes, majority of the victims were married (74%). Maximum 54% cases showed total body surface area involvement between 75 - 100% and most of the cases (42%) survived for 3-7 days. Accidental burns accounted for 84% cases. Burns are preventable. Prevention strategies should address the hazards for specific burn injuries, education for vulnerable populations and training of communities in first aid.

Keywords: Burns, Mortality, Morbidity, Post-mortem examination.