Flame burns

Area of Science:

• Trauma Surgery
• Burn Medicine
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Flame burns cause significant long-term health issues and functional impairments.
• Understanding mortality factors in flame burn patients is crucial for improving care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze mortality-related factors in patients treated for flame burns.
• To compare findings with existing literature on burn injuries.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective descriptive study of 131 flame burn patients.
• Data collected from January 2016 to December 2019 at Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital, Turkey.
• Analysis included patient demographics, affected areas, treatments, complications, and outcomes.

Main Results:

• The majority of patients (78.6%) were young males (mean age 25.3 years).
• Upper extremities and face were most commonly affected (51.9%), with conjunctivitis in 37.4%.
• Wound infection rate was 34.3%, with Staphylococcus epidermidis being the most common isolate (24.4%). Mortality was 2.2% (sepsis, inhalation injury, suicide).

Conclusions:

• Flame burns predominantly impact young men, often resulting in deeper burns requiring extensive surgical treatment.
• Higher incidence of wound infections and prolonged hospital stays are associated with these severe burn injuries.
• Further research into preventative strategies and optimized treatment protocols for high-risk populations is warranted.