Flame burns lead to significant long-term morbidity and functional consequences. This study analyzed the mortality-related factors in patients with flame burns to compare with the existing literature. This retrospective descriptive study was carried out at the General Surgery Clinic, Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital, Turkey, to include 131 patients admitted and treated with emergency surgery for flame burns between January 2016 and December 2019. Of the patients hospitalized for flame burn, 103 (78.6%) were male and 28 (21.4%) were female (M:F = 3.6) with a mean age of 25.3 ± 20.78 years. The 15-34 years age group was the most affected by flame burns. The most frequently affected body areas were the upper extremities and face (n = 68, 51.9%); conjunctivitis developed in 49 (37.4%) patients. The wound infection rate was 34.3%, and Staphylococcus epidermidis had the highest growth rate in wound culture results (24.4%). Flame burns were most common in winter and autumn. The majority of patients (n = 95, 72.5%) were treated with escharectomy and dressing, while grafting was performed in 36 (27.5%) patients. A total of 3 (2.2%) patients died-one died in a suicide attempt, one due to inhalation burn after flame burn, and another died due to sepsis. The average length of hospital stay was 8.0 ± 3.9 days. Flame burns are much more common in young men, causing deeper and wider burns and requiring greater surgical intervention. This leads to frequent wound infections and longer hospital stays.
Keywords: epidemiology; flame burns; morbidity; mortality.
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