The epidemiological trend of electrical burns in north-east of Iran: report of a decade

Background and Aim : Burn injuries impose a considerable burden on individuals and healthcare systems especially electrical burns. It is among the top causes of mortality and a considerable major cause of disability. However, it seems that the epidemiologic pattern of burns is changing. The aim of this study was to study the epidemiologic pattern of electrical burn injuries in Mashhad in the recent decade. Methods : This cross-sectional study was performed on all patients with acute burns who were admitted to the Burn Department of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, from March 2010 to February 2019. SPSS 26 was used for data analysis. Results : Overall, 7142 patients were studied out of which 349 were due to electrical burns (4.8%). Admission due to electrical burn had a rise in the first years of this decade (3.7% in 2010, 7.4% in 2011, 5.8% in 2012) but relatively a steady pattern in the following years (4.8% in 2017, 5.0% in 2018, 3.9% in 2019)(Chi-square for trend, p<0.001). The overall fatality rate of the electrical burn was 6.3%, with the highest rate in 2011(12.2%) and the lowest rate in 2019(2.4%) (Chi-square for trend, p=0.41). Although the significance level was borderline, admission rate rose in recent years for patients with lower 20% burned total body surface area (TBSA) due to electrical burn: 69.1% in 2010, 67.4% in 2011 up to 85.1% in 2018, and 82.3% in 2019 (p=0.06). The abbreviated burn severity index (ABSI) has also declined from 5.1±1.5 in 2010 to 4.3±1.3 in 2019 (p=0.14). Conclusion : The epidemiologic pattern of electrical burn has changed to a lower burned TBSA. The fatality rate has also declined which might be due to lowering of burn severity (i.e. ABSI).

کلیدواژه ها:

electrical burn ، ABSI ، mortality ، trend