Study of clinical pattern of limb loss in electrical burn injuries.

INTRODUCTION: Electrical burn injuries are devastating and cause not only loss of life but also severe disabilities in the form of limb loss. Increase in urbanization, industrialization and overcrowding has led to an increase in electric injuries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was prospective in nature evaluating electric burns and studied the pattern of limb loss for a duration of 18 months from October 2016 to March 2018. Parameters recorded were demographic data, clinical data regarding the electrical injuries, complications, and outcomes. RESULTS: Male patients made up 85.3% of cases. Mean TBSA was 24.76 ± 19.18%. Mean age was 27.59 ± 13.73 years. Pediatric patients made up 17%. High voltage burns constituted 68.2 %. Electric contact burn was the most common type making up 49.5% of cases. The most common cause was occupational (38.9%). A fasciotomy was required in 22% of cases with an amputation rate of 38% (209 out of 550). There were 190 major amputations and 106 minor amputations. Overall, the right upper limb amputations were twice as common as the left. The ratio of upper limb: lower limb amputation was 4:1. Fifty patients (23.9%) required revision amputation. The age group 11 to 30 years made up 55.5% of amputations. There was no statistical difference in amputation rates between males (31.31%) and females (41.97%). In patients with TBSA less than 25% amputation rate was 47.77% as compared to patients with more than 25% TBSA, 19.47% (p<0.001). Most amputations occurred due to electric contact burns (74.16%). In the high voltage group, 46.1% underwent amputation vs low voltage group -20.6% (p<0.001). Overall mortality rate was 12.7%. Three hundred patients (55%) had low level of awareness regarding consequences of electric injury. Thirty one percent had medium level of awareness and only 14 % had high level of awareness. There was a significant correlation between education level and awareness in adult patients (p<0.001). Seventy percent of persons with occupational injuries used only footwear and no other protective equipment. CONCLUSION: Increasing public awareness, safety measures at workplaces are measures that will help reducing electrical burns which reduce limb and life loss.

Superstition, Misconceptions, and Magical Beliefs in Burns Patients-A Cross-Sectional Study of 100 Patients.

Superstitious beliefs have been frequently encountered in our day-to-day practices among patients and caretakers. Though this is a common phenomenon, there is a paucity of data pertaining to these beliefs due to various reasons. Many of these beliefs are deep engraved into the culture and mindsets of the population. This is an observational study performed in Tertiary burn care center in India during period October 1, 2018 to January 31, 2019. Data from 100 patient units were collected through a set of questionnaires given to each of patient and their caregivers/family members and responses were collected and analyzed. In the food category of superstitions, there was a thought that white colored foods had to be avoided to avoid pus discharge and wound healing in 60% of the response; eating pomegranate or drinking the juice of pomegranate improves the hemoglobin in 80% of the response. Wearing various colored strings in various parts of the body seemed to be a dominant practice in 85% of the responses, wearing the hair with origin from human, donkeys, horses, and various animals was practiced in 45% of people and wearing peacock feathers was seen in 40% of patients. About 95% of the patients thought adversely to the idea of bathing or even contact of the water with the wounds. This study is an attempt to analyze the different parameters of superstition, misconception, and magical beliefs.