Abstract

Epidemiological and etiological profile of Brazilian burn victims

Author(s): Marilene Neves da Silva

Background: Burns are devastating injuries, often revere in significant morbidity, impairment of emotional well-being and quality of life. Objective: To trace the epidemiological and etiological profile of hospitalized patients in a burn center of a hospital in the state of São Paulo (Brazil). Methods: This exploratory descriptive study was conducted with 105 patients hospitalized at a Burns treatment center in the interior of the state of São Paulo (Brazil). Data were obtained through a questionnaire for socio-demographic and clinical characterization of burn victims validated in a previous study. The data were submitted to descriptive analysis. Results: The majority of the sample consisted of men (70.5%), married (46.66%), low-income (49.53%) and with a fundamental level of schooling (51.43%). Most accidents occurred in the domestic environment (59.0%), with alcohol being the most frequent etiological agent (37.1%). The frequency distribution showed that there was a higher predominance for the lower limbs (36.2%) followed by 35.2% for upper limbs. There was a predominance of small body extension burns, with 78 cases (74.3%) And there was also predominance for second-degree burns (63.8%). Conclusion: The data obtained evidence the importance of prevention programs for burns, aiming at the decrease of burn rates in households. Common situations and easy-to-obtain, comburent agents are part of the problem, which should be fought with greater premence by the Brazilian authorities, not relegating such policies to health education and prevention to a background.