Epidemiology of burns in a tertiary care center in Manipur, India

ABSTRACT Background: Burn injuries are among the most devastating of all injuries and a major global public health crisis. To understand the incidence and magnitude of the problem and its preventive aspects, it is important to undertake epidemiological studies in a particular location. Objective: The objective of this study was to study the prevalence of burns and its distribution according to age, gender, socioeconomic status, cause of injuries, mode of injuries in various communities, and depth of burns by detailed clinical examination. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in our hospital with 200 patients including all major and minor burns. All data were collected from patients and relatives with proper consent. Data analysis was done in both Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet ver. 2013 (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, USA) and SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version XX (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) of significance used was the Chi-square test; P = 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant. Results: Burn injuries were more common among males, although no significant association was found between age and gender. A majority of patients (69.5%) were Hindus, and the Manipuri Meitei tribe was most frequently affected (69.5%). Most belonged to the lower-middle socioeconomic class (46.5%), and 56.5% were married. Flame burns (49%) were the most common type, while scald burns were slightly higher (53%) and more frequent in females (83.3%). Kerosene was the leading cause of flame burns (20%). Accidental burns were most prevalent, though suicidal and assault-related burns were more common in females. Most injuries occurred at home, particularly between 4 PM–8 PM and 8 AM–12 PM. The majority of cases involved single individuals. Second-degree burns were the most frequently observed depth of injury. Conclusion: The prevalence of burns varies according to socioeconomic status, lifestyle, environment, habit, and gender. Burns are more common among males in our study.