Epidemiology of Burn Injuries in West Azerbaijan Province, Western Iran

Background: Burn injuries are in many respects the most of all tragedies an individual can experience. So there was an attempt to quantify the frequency of burn injuries, identify the risk and predisposing factors, determine the health outcomes at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia, westen Iran. Methods: From March 2005 to March 2006, all demographic and epidemiological information of 639 patients (48.36% female and 51.64% male) about the burns and the complications were provided from the records of patients at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia, Western Azarbaijan Province, westen Iran. Results: The incidence rate of burn hospitalization was 21.6 per 100.000. Almost 31.8% of admissions were in the 16-25 years age group. Pediatric (<5 years) and geriatric (>65 Years) burns were (21.6%) and (3.2%), respectively. Burning with flame, the most common cause of burning, accounted for 36.4% of admissions in males and for 43.6% in females. The mortality rate was 25.9%. The percentage of patients who had more than 40% body surface area (BSA) burn was 30.9%. Patients with >40% BSA burn had a mortality of 76.7%. The mean BSA burn was 33.8% in males and 25.2% in females. Admissions from Urmia were the most among the cities of the province. The mean duration of hospitalization was 7.76 days. The most cases occurred from October 22 to November 22; 10.95%) and from Jun 21 to July 21; 9.54%). Conclusion: The results of this study help to guide health care efforts towards the prevention of burn injuries and provide a valuable baseline for assessing future efforts directed toward the prevention of burn injuries.