Causes of Burns in Patients Referred to a Large Burn Center

BACKGROUND Burn is a type of skin injury or injury of mucous membranes caused by excessive heat or cold, chemicals, and electric current. Due to cultural, social, and climatic differences in different communities, different risk factors can involve in burns. The most important method of accident prevention is firstly acquiring information on the causes of accidents. In Iran, injuries due to burns are one of the most important causes of death which in turn is due to complications leading to malfunction and malformation of the burned organ. It also causes psychological problems. Thus, determining the causes and factors of burns is an important factor in determining prognosis, outcome, and mortality of patients. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the burn related factors in Ali Ebne Abitaleb Hospital in Zahedan in 2018. METHODS This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on burn patients in 2018. Data were collected using the questionnaire and analysed by SPSS 16 software. The relationship between the cause of burns and various demographic and clinical variables was investigated. Inclusion criteria included age 6 to 18 years and seconddegree and third-degree burns. Demographic and clinical data of patients including sex, age, cause of burns, degree of burns and percentage of burns were recorded. RESULTS The average burn percentage in patients admitted to the emergency department was 24% and most of the burns were with boiling water of second-degree type. The most common burn areas were in the lower limbs, upper limbs, trunk, head, and neck, in that order. Among the individual factors, age, and among family factors, maternal education, fathers of education, and monthly income level were found to be important. According to the present study, the highest incidence of burns was seen in uneducated patients, and among patients with addiction. CONCLUSIONS In most parts of the world, burn with boiling water is the most common cause of hospitalization among burn patients. In this study, the relationship between the cause of burns, percentage of burns, and costs are the major determinants of outcome. In addition, the association of other demographic, psychological, and social factors such as age, gender, income, educational attainment, and addiction may also influence because occurrence of burn was more common in families with low education and income. As a result, many cases of burns can be prevented by identifying at-risk families and teaching them how to prevent burns.