Epidemiology and concomitant injuries for electric burns at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital Burns Unit: A 5-year study

Abstract

Background: Electric burns are responsible for high mortality and morbidity, hence an increment in the general health care budgets. Prevention strategies require tailoring to specific environmental factors and populations. Currently, there are no published studies carried out in Uganda regarding this subject. Method: A retrospective cross-sectional study that involved review of patient files was conducted for burns patients admitted at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital (NRH) Burns Unit from 1st January, 2017 to 31st December, 2021, to determine the prevalence of electric burn patients, identify the patient characteristics and concomitant injuries for electric injury. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software version 22 (Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Out of the 2029 burns patients, 85(4.2%) suffered electric burns. The mean age for patients with electric burns was 24 years (range 2-45 years). A significant majority (84.7%) were male. There was an equal number of patients who were builders and electricians 22(27.9%) each. Majority 49(62.8%) sustained injuries while at work. Fifty percent (50%) of patients had attained tertiary education. Our results show that 73(85.9%) of the patients had concomitant injuries; 14(26.9%) had renal injuries, 27 (38.6%) had musculoskeletal injuries and 40(66.7%) had neurological injuries. Conclusions: The prevalence of electric burns is 4.2%. The burns are more common in males with 18–30-year-old patients being the majority. Most of the injuries are work-related. Concomitant injuries were seen in majority of our study patients.