MORTALITY FROM BURNS IN ZARIA: AN EXPERIENCE IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY

Objective: To determine the cause of morbidity and mortality in burns patients managed over aperiod of eight years in our hospital.Design: A retrospective study.Setting: Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital.Subjects: Two hundred and seven patients admitted and treated for burn care between January1980 and August 1987.Results: There were 114 males and 93 females with male/female ratio 1.2:1. Fifty four percent of theadmissions occurred during the harmattan period, which is cold and dry season of November toFebruary, 52% of admissions were children below the age of five years. The severest injury wascaused by petrol burn with a mean % BSA of 53 and range 23-100. Scalds accounted for 39% whileflame accounted for 57% of the injuries. Clothing injury was a cause of extensive burns accountingfor 12% of burn injury with % BSA of 36. Complications leading to morbidity and mortality include,wound infection leading to septicaemia and septic shock, hypovoleamia with hypovolaemic shock,which gave a mortality of 100% of those who developed shock state. Seventy three patients diedgiving a crude mortality rate of 35%.Conclusions: There is a need for health education to reduce incidence of burn injury. Since burninjuries are largely preventable, it is important to define clearly, the social, cultural and economicfactors, which contribute to burn causation in order to combat them effectively