Epidemiology of burns during pregnancy in Tehran, Iran

The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiological factors of burns in
pregnant women admitted to Motahari hospital in Tehran during a 7-year period.
Study design: This retrospective descriptive study was carried out for a 7-year period.
Researchers examined the medical records and documents of all 38 pregnant women
admitted to Motahari hospital. The required data including age, days of hospitalization,
burn percentage, cause of the burn, extent and severity of the burn, burn involved member,
gestational age, and fetal and maternal outcomes were collected using check lists. The
collected data were analyzed using statistical package using social sciences (SPSS) software
version 20.
Results: During this 7-year period, 38 pregnant women with burns in different parts of their
body were admitted to Motahari hospital in Tehran. Regarding burn frequency in the
trimesters of pregnancy, the highest frequency was found in the second trimester
(73.7%), and the frequency in the first and the third trimesters were 7.9 and 18.4%,
respectively. Maternal mortality rate in the third trimester (57.1%) was higher than in
the second (46.4%) and the first (33.3%) trimesters; however, fetal mortality rate was the
highest in the first trimester (66.7%) followed by the third trimester (57.1%). Overall, fetal
death occurred in half of the patients.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed high maternal and fetal mortality rates in
pregnant women with burns. This issue indicates that planning and implementing supportive
and therapeutic protocols in these patients are of utmost importance and should be
carried out by maintaining the health of mother and fetus immediately after patient
hospitalization.