Prevention oriented epidemiologic study of accidental burns in rural areas of Ardabil, Iran.

PURPOSE OF STUDY Burns are one of the leading causes of injury-related deaths in Iran. We conducted a study to investigate features of burns in rural areas of Ardabil Province from October 2004 through March 2005, with an aim to providing content for effective prevention programs. BASIC PROCEDURES This study employed longitudinal prospective methodology. The study population included all patients presenting with burns to local health care facilities during the study period. MAIN FINDINGS A total of 1179 cases were studied. Most of the cases (59.4%) were females. Mean of age of victims was 22.3+/-19 years in females and 13.6+/-17 years in males. The vast majority (91.2%) of burns occurred at home. More than two-thirds of burns were because of hot liquids or steam. The majority of scald burns resulted during use of heating devices such as samovars, gas stoves, valors and picnic gas stoves. Overturning and spilling of hot liquids were the most common injury mechanisms. PRINCIPLE CONCLUSIONS Prevention programs should focus on children and adult women. Prevention efforts should target home environments and focus on prevention of scalding burns.

[1]  P. Lyngdorf.  Epidemiology of scalds in small children. , 1986, Burns, including thermal injury.

[2]  P. Courtright,et al.  The epidemiology of burns in rural Ethiopia. , 1993, Journal of epidemiology and community health.

[3]  Hal B. Jenson,et al.  Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics , 1965 .

[4]  Chao-Cheng Lin,et al.  Epidemiology of hospitalized burns patients in Taiwan. , 2003, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[5]  E. Gedlu.  Accidental injuries among children in north-west Ethiopia. , 1994, East African medical journal.

[6]  M. Al-Shehri.  The pattern of paediatric burn injuries in Southwestern, Saudi Arabia. , 2005, West African journal of medicine.

[7]  L. Laflamme,et al.  Injuries among children in Karachi, Pakistan--what, where and how. , 2004, Public health.

[8]  D. Wesson,et al.  Home injuries to children. , 1993, Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique.

[9]  M. Saadat.  Epidemiology and mortality of hospitalized burn patients in Kohkiluye va Boyerahmad province (Iran): 2002-2004. , 2005, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[10]  E. Krug,et al.  The global burden of injuries. , 2000, American journal of public health.

[11]  Ashraf Maher,et al.  Epidemiology of burns admitted to Ain Shams University Burns Unit, Cairo, Egypt. , 2003, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[12]  M. Yoo,et al.  Survey of burn admissions to the Ethio-Swedish Children's Hospital. , 1990, Ethiopian medical journal.

[13]  Sin-Daw Lin,et al.  Epidemiology of pediatric burn in southern Taiwan. , 2005, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[14]  B. Ytterstad,et al.  The Harstad Injury Prevention Study: prevention of burns in small children by a community-based intervention. , 1995, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[15]  E. Mcloughlin.  A simple guide to burn epidemiology , 1995 .

[16]  J. Fish,et al.  A survey of risk factors for burns in the elderly and prevention strategies. , 2002, The Journal of burn care & rehabilitation.

[17]  S. Pegg,et al.  The epidemiology of childhood scalds in Brisbane. , 1986, Burns, including thermal injury.

[18]  N. Aikawa,et al.  Epidemiological and outcome characteristics of major burns in Tokyo. , 2005, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[19]  D. M. Potts,et al.  Accidental burn deaths to Egyptian women of reproductive age. , 1986, Burns, including thermal injury.

[20]  Colin Song,et al.  Epidemiology of burn injuries in Singapore from 1997 to 2003. , 2005, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[21]  J. Yang,et al.  A seven-year epidemiology study of 12,381 admitted burn patients in Taiwan--using the Internet registration system of the Childhood Burn Foundation. , 2005, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[22]  R. Andersson,et al.  Socio‐demographic risk factors for home‐type injuries in Swedish infants and toddlers , 2001, Acta paediatrica.

[23]  D. A. Drago.  Kitchen Scalds and Thermal Burns in Children Five Years and Younger , 2005, Pediatrics.

[24]  S N Forjuoh,et al.  Childhood burns in Ghana: epidemiological characteristics and home-based treatment. , 1995, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[25]  B. Lindtjørn,et al.  Epidemiology of burns in Bergen, Norway. , 1999, Scandinavian journal of plastic and reconstructive surgery and hand surgery.

[26]  M. Askarian,et al.  Epidemiology of burns presenting to an emergency department in Shiraz, South Iran. , 2003, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[27]  Auchincloss Jm,et al.  The problem of burns in Central Africa. , 1976 .

[28]  S. Pegg.  Burn epidemiology in the Brisbane and Queensland area. , 2005, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[29]  L. Bouter,et al.  How to study the aetiology of burn injury: the epidemiological approach. , 1989, Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

[30]  G. H. de Geus,et al.  Prevention of home related injuries of pre-school children: safety measures taken by mothers. , 1993, Health education research.

[31]  G S Smith,et al.  Unintentional injuries in developing countries: the epidemiology of a neglected problem. , 1991, Epidemiologic reviews.