Two and a half years experience at a new burn center
Bülent Özçetin1, Deniz Tihan1, Hakan Demirci2, Mehmet Mustafa Altıntaş1, Volkan Arayıcı1, Ahmed Taha1
1Sağlık Bakanlığı Şevket Yılmaz Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Genel Cerrahi Kliniği, Bursa, Türkiye
2Sağlık Bakanlığı Şevket Yılmaz Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Aile Hekimliği Kliniği, Bursa, Türkiye
Abstract
Purpose: Burn injuries are an important public health problem. In order to propose a project regarding care for patients suffering from burn injuries, one should know the epidemiology of burns in that region. This study aims to analyze the characteristics of patients treated at a new burn center in Sağlık Bakanlığı Şevket Yılmaz Training and Research Hospital Burn Center.
Materials and Methods: We evaluated all the patients treated at Sağlık Bakanlığı Şevket Yılmaz Training and Research Hospital Burn Center during the period from 2009 to 2011.
Results: There were 323 patients hospitalized at the burn center during the study period. Scalds in 224 (69%) patients were the most common cause of burns. There were 68 (21%) cases of flame, 20 (6%) cases of electrical burns, 9 (3%) cases of chemical burns and 2 (1%) cases of sunburn. Age distribution of the patients were 178 (55%) cases between ages 0-10, 32 cases (10%) between ages 11-20, 38 (12%) cases between ages 21-30, 53 (16%) cases between ages 31-50 and 22 (7%) cases of patients over 50 years.
Conclusion: The predominating cause of burn in our region was scalds. The most frequent age of patients was in the pediatric age group (0-10 years). Therefore, preventive measures should be undertaken for scalds seen in children.
Keywords: Accidental injury, burn, scalds, burn center