Burns in epilepsy: seven years of experience from the Hallym Burn Center in Korea

The objective of this retrospective epidemiological study was to identify the characteristics of burn injuries of seizure disorder patients in Korea, with the goal of developing programs to prevent or reduce the frequency and morbidity of such injuries. We reviewed the medical records of 34 acutely burned, epileptic-seizure patients who were admitted to a single regional burn center unit during the 7 years between January 1997 and April 2003, all of whom had been burned during an epileptic seizure. The most commonly associated seizure type was generalized tonic-clonic, followed by absence and complex partial. Females predominated in all age groups. There were more seizures in the morning hours between 3 and 10 am. The mean age was 43 +/- 16 years. Seizures occurred at home, while the patient was conducting daily household chores. Scalding was the most common injury, leaving small-but-deep wounds that required a mean hospital stay of 37 +/- 27 days. Typically, upper limbs and trunk were affected. To implement a successful burns injury-prevention program, patients with epilepsy should be better recognized as a high-risk group. Specific passive as well as active recommendations are suggested based on the epidemiologic features of seizure disorder patients in Korea.