Introduction: In the UK, burn injuries are estimated to cause around 13K admissions every year and they have a mortality of approximately 1.2%. But these are just estimates since no study has been made that can demonstrate the true incidence and prevalence of burn injuries. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical epidemiology of burn injuries for the years 2003-2011
Methods: Data form international Burn Injury Database, which is the database for specialised services, were analysed for all admissions (2003-11) in England and Wales. Data was broken down according to age, sex and Primary Care Trusts. Admission rates were adjusted for world population according to World Health Organization population tables.
Results: Admissions for males accounted for 63% and the remaining 37% to females. The mean burn surface area was 3.98 (95% 3.92-4.04). The most frequent reason for burn injury admission was scald (38%). The median age group was 10-<20 for all years with the exception of 2011 which was 1-<10yrs. Mortality was overall 1.25. Admissions based on sex and age were highest for the age groups 1-<10yrs for both genders. Conclusion: Mortality from burn injuries is decreasing, a finding that follows the western world trends. There is an increase in admissions in burn services but that could be an artefact of the database being used from all services over the passage of time. These results will be vital for service development and planning as well as prevention strategies and commissioning.