Epidemiology of burns presenting to an emergency department in Shiraz, South Iran

A retrospective study of 1493 burn patients attending the Ghotbeddin emergency burn center in Shiraz, South Iran during the 1 year period 2001–2002 was undertaken in order to describe the epidemiological features of burns in Shiraz. The following results were obtained: the mean age of attendees was 21.84±19.05 with an overall male to female ratio of 1.12. 41.2% of patients were children under 15 years with a M/F ratio of 1.36. The main causes of burns were scalds (53%) followed by flame (25%). The frequency of scalds was much higher among children (70%). The majority of accidents (81%) occurred at home, 5.2% occurred in workplace and domestic accidents were more frequent among women. The mean total body surface area (TBSA) burned was 7.4±14.3%. Extensive TBSA had a significant association with flame burns and sex, showing that female patients have higher risk for more extensive burns. Finally, there was a significant seasonal variation for burns, with most burns occurring in winter months.