Epidemiological data of patients hospitalized with burns and other traumas in some cities in the southeast of Brazil from 1991 to 1997.

This retrospective analysis of burn patients and victims of other forms of trauma from Ribeirão Preto and nearby cities admitted to hospitals in the city of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, was carried out to determine the frequency of injuries of all types in order to identify the extent of the problem of burns relative to other forms of trauma. Data concerning 921 patients with burns and 60,344 patients with other traumatic injuries hospitalized during the period from 1991 to 1997 are described. Burns corresponded to 1.5% of the total number of traumatic injuries. When data are reported as absolute numbers or as incidence rate of hospitalized burn patients, burns were two times more frequent among men in most age groups. The case fatality ratio due to burns was 8.4% (77 deaths among 921 patients), with a rate of 6.4% for men and 12.2% for women. The case fatality ratio was higher among women than men regardless of the city of residence. The case fatality ratio was 3.2 and 4.4 times greater for men and women burn victims from other towns than for burn victims from Ribeirão Preto, indicating the need for additional equipment and training of medical and paramedical personnel in the initial measures to be taken with burn patients.

Epidemiological data and mortality rate of patients hospitalized with burns in Brazil.

This retrospective analysis of burn patients in a University Hospital in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, was carried out to characterize this population and to identify the factors that affect the mortality rate. All patients hospitalized from January 1990 to April 1995 (n = 229, 3.6 patients/month) and who terminated treatment were included. Of these, 80.8% (185 patients) were hospitalized within 24 h of the burn. Occupational and/or domestic accidents were responsible for most of the burns (78.6%), which were mainly caused by a direct flame (71.2%). with alcohol being the flammable fluid most frequently used. The average patient treated at the center was a male of 9 years of age or less with 20-40% burned body surface, who received care within 24 h after suffering an accidental alcohol burn and who was hospitalized for < or =30 days. The mortality rate was 18.8% for all patients and increased with burned body surface and age, and for suicide patients. Suicide attempts for all patients > or = 18 years were the cause of 46 .5% (20/43) of the burns involving women and of 8.9% (8/90) of the burns involving men. The mortality rate was significantly higher for self-inflicted burns (42.9%) than for accidental burns (20.2%).

Suicide attempted by burning in Brazil.

From 1984 through 1995, a total of 82 patients were admitted to the Burn Center of the University Hospital of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo with a history of attempted suicide. Fifty-eight patients were female and 24 were male. The mean burned surface area (BSA) was 52.4 per cent and the mortality rate was 44 per cent. Methyl alcohol was used by 87.5 per cent of the patients to ignite the fire.