Burn and vital risk criteria in industrial accidents (as forensic medicine approach)

Burn traumas resulting from industrial accidents may generate a death risk. In such cases a forensic report should be filled up. In forensic findings, the death risk which is associated with the degree of trauma, of the victim is as important as the treatment of the subject. The aim of our research was to investigate what degree of burns causes fatality and which type of industrial accidents cause them.

This research was done between the dates October 2004 and December 2006 with the descriptive epidemiology method by the evaluation of all data entered emergency surgical room- burn unit. The results of the study were analyzed with respect to its socio-demographic characteristics clinical findings of the type of burn and the type of the event which caused the burn. Categorical variables were assessed using Chi-square test, continuous variables were tested by Pearson's correlation.

For the total 128 incidents, 69.5% (n=89) were males and 30.5% (n=39) females. 28.9% (n=37) of the incidents were industrial accidents. 48.6% (n=18) of the burns were caused by boiling water, 32.4% (n=12) due to contact by flame, 10.8% (n=4) electrocution and %8.2 (n=3) due to burns by contact with chemicals. The 19.50% (n=25) of the incidents had ended up by loss of life, 80.5% (n=103) were cured and discharged. The incidents which had resulted under 20%, the mortality rate was 1.3% (n=1), the incidents which had above 20%, the mortality rate was 49.0% (n=24) (p=0.0001).

The degree of burn was found to be valuable in determining the death risk but the extent of the burned area was found to be more deterministic in assessing this particular risk.