Incidence of burns and factors associated with their hospitalisation in Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Background: The burden of burns is largely underreported due to the lack of a surveillance system in Pakistan. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence of burns and factors associated with their hospitalisation in the city of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Methods: A prospective observational study from July 2007 to June 2008 was conducted. All the burn-related injury patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) of the three public teaching hospitals in Rawalpindi city were included. A standard World Health Organization questionnaire was used to record the information about injury victims. Results: A total of 1498 burned patients presented to EDs. Females accounted for 40% of the patients. The majority of patients were <= 46 years. Most of the burns occurred at home (79.2%). The overall incidence of burn-related injuries per 100 000 inhabitants was 76.3 for emergency visits, 17.0 for hospitalisation and 0.3 for ED deaths. Female patients (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.49, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.09, 2.06), intentional burns (aOR = 5.25, 95% CI = 2.17-12.74) and injuries at work (aOR = 3.81, 95% CI = 2.40, 6.07) and in a market area (aOR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.36-3.74) were more likely to result in hospitalisation. Conclusion: Rawalpindi city has a significant burden of burns. These results showed that investigating further factors leading to burns at home and work could be useful for future safety education campaigns. Moreover, continuous surveillance is warranted to decrease burns in Pakistan. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.