Abstract: Analysis of the Causes of Burn Related Deaths at Kimberley Hospital

ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF BURN RELATED DEATHS AT KIMBERLEY HOSPITAL

M.Giaquinto-Cilliers, T.Mathe, S. Sheik, T. Van Wyngaard, D.Lourens

Kimberley Hospital Complex

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the causes of deaths resulting from burn injuries at Kimberley Hospital Burns Unit (KBU).

BACKGROUND: According to the document on Modernization of Tertiary Services in South Africa (2003), the average mortality rate in the country for adults is 10.2% and 4.1% for children. The most common causes of deaths are sepsis related, despite advances in general burn care. There are few Burn Units in the country, and most of them lack specialized equipment, trained staff and adequate number of beds to cope with the demand for the treatment of burn patients.

METHOD: A retrospective audit of the forensic reports from June 2005 to June 2011 obtained after the death of patients who sustained burn injuries admitted at Kimberley Hospital Burns Unit (KHBU) was done. Data collected included the final cause of death and the gender of patients. A detailed analysis of the reports was the base for this study.

RESULTS: Sixty three death reports were analyzed. 30 were from male patients, 33 from female. Four reports were from children below 18 years of age. The most frequent cause of death found was septicemia with multi organ failure (MOF). The lungs were the organs most affected by sepsis, with bronchopneumonia and pulmonary oedema resulting from the macroscopic finding of consolidation of lung parenchyma and congestion.

DISCUSSION: Septicemia was the leading cause of deaths at KBU despite a more aggressive surgical approach to the treatment of burn wounds. There was a slight trend away from the number of organs involved in the MOF in the last reports, in comparison to the earliest reports studied.