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. 2017 Mar;43(2):249-257.
doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2016.08.013. Epub 2016 Sep 3.

Recent trends in burn epidemiology worldwide: A systematic review

Christian Smolle  1 , Janos Cambiaso-Daniel  2 , Abigail A Forbes  3 , Paul Wurzer  4 , Gabriel Hundeshagen  5 , Ludwik K Branski  4 , Fredrik Huss  6 , Lars-Peter Kamolz  2
Affiliations

Recent trends in burn epidemiology worldwide: A systematic review

Christian Smolle et al. Burns. 2017 Mar.

Abstract

Burns have been more prevalent among low socioeconomic populations and in less developed regions. Incredible advances in burn care and social development over the recent decades, however, should have placed the incidence and severity of burns in a downwards trend. The aim of this review was to give an overview on current trends in burn epidemiology across the world. Also the socioeconomic development in countries that have published epidemiological data used in this study has been taken into account when comparing the results. There was a worldwide downwards trend of burn incidence, burn severity, length of hospital stay, and mortality rate. These findings were particularly pronounced in very highly developed countries. Data from highly and medium developed countries were more heterogeneous. No studies could be obtained from low and middle income countries. Comparisons between the different studies were compromised by the fact that studies emerged from specialized facilities on one hand and general hospitals on the other. Analyzed studies were also frequently focusing on limited patient populations such as "children" or "elderly". Our findings indicate the need for an international burn database with a minimal data-set in order to obtain objective and comparable results in respect of burn epidemiology.

Keywords: Burn; Development; Epidemiology; Mortality; Severity; Trend.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Continents, Studies, and Development Status. Only 4 studies could be obtained from MD countries and none from LD countries.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Worldwide trends in burns. Bars show the number of studies presenting a specific trend.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Study periods of articles distributed according to study population (16 = Hai Jun et al., China, study period 1970–2008).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Countries of which studies describing trends could be obtained (grey) [©Map template: www.outline-world-map.com].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Male: female ratio according to age group (6 = Pegg, Australia, sex ratio 3.8: 1).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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