Epidemiology of burn cases hospitalized at the Plastic Surgery and Burns Service of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

Burns are skin injuries caused by external agents and can result in functional, aesthetic, psychological, and fatal sequelae. The objective is to determine the epidemiological profile of burn cases hospitalized at the Plastic Surgery and Burns Service of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos (Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica e Queimados da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos-SCPQSCMS).

Methods:

A total of 589 burn cases hospitalized at SCPQSCMS from March 2010 to March 2015 were evaluated.

Results:

Of these, 180 were children (aged <10 years), 72 were adolescents, 287 were adults, and 50 were elderly. The majority of the study sample were men, and the primary place of occurrence was the home. The most commonly affected regions were the head, face and neck, abdomen, thorax and trunk, and upper limbs. Burns were mainly caused by scalding (36.8%), flammable liquids (18%), fire (14.4%), and electrical injuries (10.5%). The average hospitalization time was 22 days; however, 61% of the sample remained hospitalized for up to 2 weeks and 4% died.

Conclusions:

The study demonstrated that the profile of patients hospitalized at SCPQSCMS was similar to that found in other units specializing in this type of treatment. Our results emphasize the importance of this type of study to understand and avoid risk factors and behaviors associated with burns.

Keywords:
Burns; Epidemiology; Accident prevention; Burn units; Public health.