Thermal fatalities in Pretoria : a 5-year retrospective review

dc.contributor.authorMorobadi, Kenalemang
dc.contributor.authorBlumenthal, Ryan
dc.contributor.authorSaayman, Gert
dc.contributor.emailkena.morobadi@up.ac.zaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2020-02-07T09:46:06Z
dc.date.issued2019-11
dc.description.abstractIn South Africa, research on burn mortality has emanated primarily from specialised burn centres and has focused on specific age groups and hospital-based fatalities. This study describes the demographic profile and the pathology of trauma related to burn fatalities as seen at the Pretoria Medico-Legal Laboratory (PTA MLL), a large urban medico-legal mortuary over a 5-year period from January 2011 to December 2015. Mortuary admission records and autopsy reports were used to gather information on demographics, circumstances of injury, apparent manner and cause of death, pathology of burns, toxicology and histology reports and identification of the decedents. RESULTS : Of the 9558 unnatural deaths admitted to the PTA MLL during this time period, 291 (3.0%) of the fatalities met the inclusion criteria. The male:female ratio was 2.9:1. Most fatalities occurred between the ages of 0–4 years. One hundred and forty-two (142) decedents were charred beyond recognition. Identification was confirmed in 134 (94.4%) of the charred remains. In 208 (69.8%) of the cases the manner of death was deemed to be accidental, 23 (7.9%) were homicidal and 11 (3.8%) were suicides. Two hundred and fifty-five (87.4%) of the fatalities were as a result of open flames/fires. Shack fires were responsible for 105 (36%) of all fatalities. In 32 (11.0%) cases of open flame/fire fatalities where death occurred at the scene of injury, more than one fatality was reported per incident. In 122 (79.2%) of scene fatalities, soot deposition was noted in the upper and lower airways. Forty-five (32.8%) of hospital fatalities occurred within 24 h of admission. The most common complications in hospital fatalities were from the respiratory system. The mean blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) was 0.09 g/100 ml. The mean carboxyhaemoglobin concentrations (COHb) was 19.9%. All available cyanide results were negative. CONCLUSION : The study is the first of its kind in South Africa to generate bimodal descriptive statistics for burn fatalities. Approximately 3% of unnatural deaths at the PTA-MLL were due to burns, occurring at a rate of ±1 death per week. The data provides a platform for funding, collaborative research, planning and development of public health programs.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentForensic Medicineen_ZA
dc.description.embargo2020-11-01
dc.description.librarianhj2020en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/burnsen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMorobadi, K., Blumenthal, R. & Saayman, G. 2019, 'Thermal fatalities in Pretoria : a 5-year retrospective review', Burns, vol. 45, no. 7, pp. 1707-1714.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0305-4179 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1879-1409 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.burns.2019.05.007
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/73138
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherElsevieren_ZA
dc.rights© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Burns. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. A definitive version was subsequently published in Burns, vol. 45, no. 7, pp. 1707-1714, 2019. doi : 10.1016/j.burns.2019.05.007.en_ZA
dc.subjectPretoria Medico-Legal Laboratory (PTA MLL)en_ZA
dc.subjectSouth Africa (SA)en_ZA
dc.subjectLow to middle income countries (LMIC)en_ZA
dc.subjectHigh income countries (HIC)en_ZA
dc.subjectCarboxyhaemoglobin (COHb)en_ZA
dc.subjectBlood alcohol concentration (BAC)en_ZA
dc.subjectTotal body surface area (TBSA)en_ZA
dc.subjectAcute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)en_ZA
dc.subjectAcute kidney injury (AKI)en_ZA
dc.subjectBurn fatalitiesen_ZA
dc.subjectPathologyen_ZA
dc.subjectPost mortemen_ZA
dc.subjectForensicen_ZA
dc.subjectAutopsyen_ZA
dc.subjectDemographicsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHealth sciences articles SDG-03
dc.subject.otherSDG-03: Good health and well-being
dc.titleThermal fatalities in Pretoria : a 5-year retrospective reviewen_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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