title: Burn injury characteristics: findings from Pakistan National Emergency Department Surveillance Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Burn injury is an important yet under-researched area in Pakistan. The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics and associated outcomes of burn injury patients presenting to major emergency departments in Pakistan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pakistan National Emergency Department Surveillance (Pak-NEDS) was a pilot active surveillance conducted between November 2010 and March 2011. Information related to patient demographics, mode of arrival, cause of burn injury, and outcomes was analyzed for this paper. Data were entered using Epi Info and analyzed using SPSS v.20. Ethical approval was obtained from all participating sites.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 403 burn injury patients in Pak-NEDS, with a male to female ratio 2:1. About 48.9% of the burn injury patients (n = 199) were between 10 - 29 years of age. There was no statistically significant difference between unintentional and intentional burn injury patients except for body part injured (p-value 0.004) and ED disposition (p-value 0.025). Among 21 patients who died, most were between 40 - 49 years of age (61.9%) and suffered from fire burns (81%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Burn injuries are a burden on emergency rooms in Pakistan. We were able to demonstrate the significant burden of burn injuries that is not addressed by specialized burn centers.
authors.forename: Emaduddin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.forename: Nukhba
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zia
authors.forename: Asher
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feroze
authors.forename: Safia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Awan
authors.forename: Arifa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Junaid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Razzak
authors.forename: Adnan A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hyder
authors.forename: Asad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Latif
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000552:Ambulances / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017678:Sex Distribution; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult