OUTCOME OF BURN INJURY AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG BURN PATIENTS ATTENDING HIWOT FANA SPECIALLIZED UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Burn is a skin and tissue damage caused by agent like fire, scald, electricity, sunlight, chemical or nuclear radiation. Burn injury is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Burn can have long term physical, psychological, economic and social implication on them and their families with ongoing treatment, rehabilitation and the need for regular interventions. However, little information was available on outcome of burn injury and associated factors among burn patients attending care in Ethiopia in general and the study setting in particular. Objective: To assess outcome of burn injury and associated factors among burn patients attending Hiwot Fana Speciallized University Hospital in Ethiopia from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2020. Method: An institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 burn patients. Stratified sampling was used to select the participants. Structured checklist used to extract data from burn patients’ medical records. Data was entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were applied to identify factors associated with burn patients. Crude Odd Ratio (COR) and Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) used to represent the results. Results: In this study outcome of the discharged burn patients without complication was found to be 57.1% with 95%CI (52.7, 61.9). In this study, having <10%[AOR=3.42(1.40, 8.32)] and between 10-20% TBSAand [AOR=3.47(2.08, 5.78)], superficial or first degree burn[AOR=6.24(1.97, 19.75)], having electrical burn and scald/steam/chemical burn[AOR=3.36 (1.64, 6.89)] and [AOR=3.26(1.81, 5.81)], accidental burn [AOR=3.55(1.46, 8.67)], had no pre-hospital aid[AOR=6.50(3.58, 11.65)], who had IV fluid at admission[AOR=2.13(1.21, 3.75)], length of stay time (≤8hrs) prior to hospitalization[AOR=4.27(2.08, 8.78)], and who had conservative management[AOR=6.58(1.59, 27.17)] times significantly and positively associated with outcome of the discharged burn patients without complication. Conclusion and Recommendations: In this study outcome of the discharged burn patients without complication was found to be more than half. Need for health promotion activities: mass media, radios, dramas, televisions, posters to empower the communities on the characteristics and outcomes of burn injuries so that prevention measures can be emphasised. The public needs to be sensitized on the importance of cooling the burn using cool running water for 20 min.