Epidemiological Profile of Chemical Burns from the Largest Burn Centre in India

Aim: This study aims at comparing the epidemiology of chemical burns between the burn units of a developing country such as India and that of the developed countries Materials and methods: 60 Chemical burn Patients who attended and were admitted in a tertiary burn centre of India (catering to the north Indian population), in the year 2008 were considered for the study and a comparison between the data of the burn units of the developed nation was done. Observation: Total of 60 patients were victims of chemical burns out of a total of 6190 burn patients treated in the year 2008. Most chemical burns occurred in the age group 2130 years, whereas the homicidal burns occurred in 11-20 years age group. Conclusion: Unlike the world wide incidence the relative incidence of chemical burns was less due to the higher percentage of thermal burns reported in India. The type of injury is also different from the majority of chemical burns in other countries because accidental mishaps at work place is common in developed countries while that in India they are due to accidental burns at home or homicidal burns. The main lesson learnt from this study is that prevention is the key and that the government has to come out with stricter rules and regulations regarding the manufacturing and dispensing of chemical substances especially acids in the market for consumer use and in factories.