Epidemiological Study of Thermal Burn Deaths at a Tertiary Care Centre in Mumbai, India

Background: Fire is a well-known double edged sword for human beings as it has served as well as destroyed mankind. Death due to thermal burns is burning topic all over the globe. Methods: Total 109 cases of death due to fatal thermal burns which were brought for the autopsy examination at Seth G. S. Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India, during the period of January 2014 to July 2015, were considered for present study. Results: Out of 1771 medico-legal post-mortem examinations done during study period 109 (6.14%) were deaths due to thermal burns. Females accounted for 92 (84.4%) cases while 17 (15.6%) were males. Maximum number of cases 49 (44.95%) were seen in 21- 30 years age group. Maximum victims 87 (79.82%) were Hindus. Urban deaths accounted 81 (74.31%) whereas 27 (24.77%) were from rural area. Kitchen was the most common place of occurrence accounting for 65 (59.63%) cases. Maximum incidences occurred in winter contributing 39 (35.78%) deaths. Maximum vulnerability was observed in early evening hours accounting for 19 (17.43%) incidences. Maximum 41 (37.61%) victims survived up to a period of 3 to 7 days. Considering the level of education, maximum victims 50 (45.87%) were educated up to primary school level. Housewives 73 (66.92%) were the most vulnerable victims. Socio-economic status shows maximum cases are from upper lower and lower middle class population. Conclusion: Considering the religion-wise population distribution in India, location of the study centre and exposure of Indian females to fire during cooking, all these results can be justified.