Epidemiology of burns during pregnancy in Tehran, Iran

The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiological factors of burns in pregnant women admitted to Motahari hospital in Tehran during a 7-year period.

This retrospective descriptive study was carried out for a 7-year period. Researchers examined the medical records and documents of all 38 pregnant women admitted to Motahari hospital. The required data including age, days of hospitalization, burn percentage, cause of the burn, extent and severity of the burn, burn involved member, gestational age, and fetal and maternal outcomes were collected using check lists. The collected data were analyzed using statistical package using social sciences (SPSS) software version 20.

During this 7-year period, 38 pregnant women with burns in different parts of their body were admitted to Motahari hospital in Tehran. Regarding burn frequency in the trimesters of pregnancy, the highest frequency was found in the second trimester (73.7%), and the frequency in the first and the third trimesters were 7.9 and 18.4%, respectively. Maternal mortality rate in the third trimester (57.1%) was higher than in the second (46.4%) and the first (33.3%) trimesters; however, fetal mortality rate was the highest in the first trimester (66.7%) followed by the third trimester (57.1%). Overall, fetal death occurred in half of the patients.

The results of this study showed high maternal and fetal mortality rates in pregnant women with burns. This issue indicates that planning and implementing supportive and therapeutic protocols in these patients are of utmost importance and should be carried out by maintaining the health of mother and fetus immediately after patient hospitalization.