Trends in Gender Specific Mortality Differences Post Burn Injury; Evidence from Burns Care Centre, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of gender following burn injury on mortality outcomes.
Methodology: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at Burn Care Centre, PIMS, Pakistan. Secondary data
was collected and reviewed via HMIS database. Annual mortality patterns observed from 2019-2023 across multiple
age groups revealed differences in gender for several confounding variables.
Results: Mortality rate stated in females was (13.17%) compared to males (12.76%). No significant difference was
observed across various age intervals when viewed heterosexually. Similarly, although flames showed higher mortality
among females and males had greater mortality as a result of scald, electric & cylinder burns, the data proved to be
statistically insignificant. Total burn surface area (TBSA) was reported to be insignificantly higher among males of
childhood & reproductive ages and females of old age. Length of stay (LOS) also displayed analogous patterns in
mortality irrespective of age except for a rise in mortality among women of childbearing age in comparison to postpubertal males (10.3 vs 6.7).
Conclusion: Our study depicted trends in post-burn mortality across reproductive age group, emphasizing gender
disposition. Females are at greater risk of mortality particularly among those with prolonged hospitalization. Rest of
the confounding factors i.e. TBSA, degree and mechanism of burn injuries did not show significant fluctuations with
respect to morality in both genders on statistical grounds.
Keywords: Burn Type; Burn injury; Gender Differences; Length of Stay; Mortality; Total Burn Surface Area.