Epidemiological study of burns in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, 2006-2009

To identify and describe the patterns of burns reported at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) from 2006 to 2009 and their outcomes on the various age groups and genders.

Patients' records from admission and discharge books of the Burns Intensive Care Unit, Polyclinic Casualty Consulting Rooms and from the Statistical Department of KATH were reviewed to obtain the necessary data for this retrospective study. Data entry and analysis were done by using SPSS version 17.0.

A total of 731 patients' records were reviewed, with male to female ratio of 1.2:1. The mean age was 15.83 years; range was 0-79 years. Children less than 10 years were the most frequently admitted group (53.5%). Most of the burns occurred in domestic settings (88.5%), whiles, majority of the burns were accidental (98.8%). Scalds (57.4%) were the most frequent cause of burns followed by open flame (38.2%). The mortality rate was 13.1% for the period under review. Majority (71.4%) of the patients spent less than 10 days on admission. The mean total body surface area (TBSA) was 24.79%, and there was significant correlation between TBSA, age group, outcome and duration of hospital admission.

Children less than 10 years were the most vulnerable victims to burns; males dominated the number of victims. The commonest aetiological factor was scalds, with most of them related to inattention from parents. More dedicated burn surgeons and properly trained nurses are needed at KATH. Ambulance and pre-hospital services should be increased with adequate number of paramedics. Coordination between district hospitals and tertiary burn centres should also be established, for the proper transfer of burn cases to the tertiary burn centres, especially KATH.