Abstract

Background: Burns are a global public health problem, accounting for an estimated 265,000 deaths annually.Most of these happen in low- and middle-income countries and nearly half happen in the WHO South-East Asia region. Burn injuries involve both developing and developed nation. Goldman describes burns as “the silent epidemic”. Material & Methods: A Prospective study was conducted from Jan 2013 to December 2013 in which 87 autopsy cases of burn deaths were taken out of 976 autopsies conducted in the mortuary of Raichur institute of medical sciences, Raichur. Results: The maximum incidences of burn deaths in married females were in 21-30 years age group (40.3%). Majority of the victims were educated below 10th (55.3%). The most common place of death was kitchen (71.3%) and the most common manner of death was accidental (51.8%). Conclusion: Burns represent an extreme stressful experience and are complex devastating conditions. Public awareness should be increased regarding the social problem and importance should be given to education which can be achieved by different medias of mass communication.

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