Mass burn injuries: an analysis of characteristics and outcomes in a developing country

Our aim was to investigate characteristics and outcomes of patients with mass burn injuries admitted to the National Institute of Burns (NIB), Hanoi, Vietnam. A retrospective note audit was conducted on 83 episodes of mass burn injury (MBI) resulting in 332 patients being admitted to the NIB from 1/2009 to 1/2015. Evaluated criteria included occurrence time, causal agents, place, MBI size, and demographic information such as patient age, gender, burn surface area, full thickness burn area, inhalation injury, prehospital management and outcome. Single and multiple variable logistic analyses were performed to find out independent factors affecting the mortality rate of these patients. 66.3% of MBI were work-related accidents. Incidents were mainly located indoors (72.2%). The predominant groups appeared to be adult (92.3%) and male (74.9%). Average burn surface area was 31% total body surface area (TBSA) and average full thickness area was 12% TBSA. Inhalation injury was diagnosed in 24.6% of patients. More than half of the total victims were classified as having moderate and major burns with an overall mortality rate of 19.2%. According to available information, initial management prior to admission to NIB was not efficient. Full thickness burn area and inhalation injury were found to be independent factors affecting the mortality rate of mass burn injury patients. Our results indicate that most mass burn injury patients in Vietnam are male adults in the working environment. Inhalation injury and full thickness burn area were independent factors affecting mortality rate. Continuing medical education should be conducted to eliminate limitations in prehospital care.