Scenario of Accidental Burns in Rural Part of Central India

In India, Burns are second most common cause of accidental injuries. Only limited studies have evaluated the scenario of accidental burn in rural part of central India.

To evaluate prospectively accidental burns in a hospital situated in a rural part of central India.

The consecutive 300 cases of accidental burns admitted in our hospital were analyzed prospectively to review the scenario of accidental burn over a period of 3 years.

The study revealed female (68.81%) predominance with female to male ratio of 2.2: 1. Most of the victims of burn were between the ages of 21 to 30 years. Married (69%) outnumbered unmarried. Accidental burns were predominantly in young adult females.

The accidents due to domestic burns was common among both domestic & non domestic burns. Most of accident due to burns sustained inside kitchen or usually occurred at the time of working in the kitchen. Accidents due to flame burns are more common in adults, while scalds are more common in children. Unprotected source of fire, cooking at floor level, loose feeting synthetic garments & accidental exposure to radiation source were mainly responsible for accidental burns.

considering the increase in incidence of accidental burns in rural areas, government and other social organizations need to put an efforts for running the prevention and education programs against burn injuries.