An Analytical Study of Primus Stove Burns: A Catastrophic and Costly but Preventable Tragedy

Burns are still considered to be an enormous public issue. Syrian burn centers have to deal, especially during the current war, with burns caused by manually processed petroleum derivatives, and particularly' primus stove injuries. This kind of burn is severe and devastating. Prevention is key in management. This is one of the leading studies to include this high number of cases in relative medical literature.

This retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Al-Mouwasat University Hospital, from June 2021 to October 2021. Inclusion criteria included admitted patients with a clear history of kerosene primus stove burn, either gender, and any age. Exclusion criteria included no clear history of a primus stove burn, injuries with causes other than primus stove, and outpatients. Data were recorded in Microsoft Excel sheets, and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software.

In total, 135 burn patients were included. Of the total number of 135 patients, 65 (48%) patients were admitted with primus stove burns, with 70 (52%) non-primus stove injury patients. Of the 65 patients, 25 were men and 40 were women (38% and 62% respectively). The mean percentage of total body surface area was 45%. Average hospital stay was 30.5 days, whereas 16 of 65 (25%) primus stove admissions died.

Primus stove injuries are catastrophic and costly, but preventable. This study provides a detailed analytic and epidemiological approach to these injuries, hoping to shed light on the severity of such cases' and stresses the importance of prevention, which is always better than cure.