Burn mortality in Chandigarh zone: 25 years autopsy experience from a tertiary care hospital of India.

An analysis of autopsy records of burn victims revealed that most burn deaths occurred in the age group 21-40 years (67 per cent) with female preponderance (61 per cent) in all age groups except in the extreme age groups. 62 per cent of burn cases originated in urban areas. The majority of subjects (99 per cent females and 76 per cent males) died as a result of flame burns. Kerosene was the most common factor (76 per cent) in burn deaths. 11 per cent of deaths were due to the stove bursting and 27 per cent of victims died due to leakage of oil from the stove. 39 per cent of subjects sustained burns when their clothes caught fire. Scalds (3.3 per cent), electrical (4.7 per cent) and chemical (2.3 per cent) burns were more commonly seen in males, mainly sustained at their working place. Accidental burns were observed in 80 per cent of subjects followed by suicidal (16.2 per cent) and homicidal burn assaults (4.1 per cent). Peak incidence of burns in females was observed between 5.01 a.m. and 11 a.m. (38 per cent), which was the time of least incidence in males (10.3 per cent). The opposite trend was seen between 11.01 p.m. and 5 a.m. Among males, burn deaths were more common (85 per cent) in those who were living alone, away from their families; whereas in women the incidence of burn deaths was higher (74 per cent) in those living with their families. The majority of deaths due to burns occurred within one week (77 per cent) of the incident. Septicaemia was the major cause of death (55 per cent).