A 9-years audit of treatment outcome and epidemiology of patients admitted at Ahvaz Burn Centre in Iran

Objective: To study the outcome of treatment, and epidemiology of burn injuries in Ahvaz, Iran.Methodology: This retrospective study analyzed the epidemiology, mortality rate, etiological factors among 11492 patients admitted in burn-care centre in Ahvaz Iran. The influence of modifications made on building facilities, instruments and techniques implemented during 9 years (1999-2007) on the rate of mortality was also evaluated for the burn centre serving four provinces of Iran: Khuzestan, Elam, Lorestan and Bushher.Results: The hospitalized patients in less than 15 years old age group accounted for 32.4%. The highest number of admitted cases (40%) had their ages ranging between 16 to 30 years and the lowest (3.7%) had ages more than 60 years. The mean age and mean total burn surface area (TBSA) were 22.4 years and 38.4% respectively. Most accidents were caused by flame (60%). The proportion of males was 55.6%, while higher TBSA burns were seen in females (66.2%). Overall mortality was 16.06% (range 23.8 in 1999 to 14.8% in 2007). Most burn injuries occurred in winter season (31.9%), predominantly accidentally (83.8%), at home (64%) and among urban dwellers (86%). There was a general reduction in the trend of mortality rate from 19.7% in year 2001 to 14.8% in year 2007. This trend was correlated with application of amniotic membrane in 2002, use of early excision, early grafting techniques in 2004, improvement in building facilities such as use of separate departments for infected and non-infected cases, establishment of an ICU in 2005 and use of laser therapy with C02 in 2005. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the phenomenon of burn injury is serious problem in this area which calls for careful planning both in community, educational and training of medical staff.