Prevalence burn injuries and risk factors in persons older the 15 years in Urmia burn center in Iran

Background: Burn injuries in many respects is the most tragic that a person may experience. The purpose of this study was to know the burn casualties prevalence in people over 15 years old to identify the risk and predisposing factors in the province of west Azarbaijan of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed from March 2008 to March 2010. The demographic and epidemiologic information about burn and its complications were extracted from the data banks and records. Data were collected and analyzed. Results:Four hundred twenty eight patients (44.9% female and 56.1% male) were studied. Most of the admissions were in 16 to 25 years age bracket. Burning with fire accounted (39.2%) of admission in males and (53.2%) in females which was the most common cause of burning. Percentage patients who had more than 40% body surface area (BSA) burned was 42.0% in males, and 30.1% in females. Patients with >40% BSA burn had a mortality of 73.8%. The mean body surface area burned was 33.8% in males and 25.2% in females. The mean duration of hospitalization was 6.19 days. Conclusion: The results of this study show that the prevalence of burn injuries is relatively high with high mortality rate in those with BSA> 40%. The commonest cause of burn was fire.