Autopsy audit of burn patients; the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja experience

Background There are many studies detailing the improvement in the care and survival of burns patients. Very little have however been documented about the postmortem findings in patients that died after sustaining burns. This study was carried out to assess the severity of injury to skin and internal organs as revealed by post mortem findings and correlate it with ante-mortem clinical assessments with the hope of improving management burn patients. Patients and Methods All patients with Burn injury that died between January and December 2005 at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. Results Fifty-four deaths were recorded during the study period. Autopsy examinations were carried out on 42; (Autopsy rate 77.8%). There were 32 males and 10 females giving a ratio of M:F 3.2:1. Electricity burn was the commonest cause of death (47.6%) followed by house and vehicle fire (23.8%) petroleum products (16.7%), arson (9.5%) and torture (2.4%). Conclusions The mortality from electricity burn in the study calls for improved safety measures and caution in distribution of and handling of power supply. Keywords : Burns, Autopsy audit, Mortality. Nigerian Journal of Plastic Surgery Vol. 4 (2) 2008: pp. 42-46