Citation

Masoodi Z, Imran A, Fahad K, Ansarul H. Indian J. Burns 2012; 20(1): 36-41.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, National Academy of Burns India, Publisher MedKnow)

DOI

10.4103/0971-653X.111780

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Background : Burns occurring in conjunction with pregnancy can be a potentially life-threatening scenario as it may lead to a rapid depletion of the already diminished maternal reserves. The management protocol in a pregnant burn female has to be tailored, taking into consideration the additional factor of fetal well-being and the fetal susceptibility to various agents. For such alterations to be incorporated, it is imperative on part of the treating doctor to correctly ascertain the pregnant/nonpregnant status of an adult burn female. Though most cases of pregnancy can be diagnosed on the basis of history/ examination but it is not a totally reliant method and hence liberal use of the urine pregnancy test should be done. Material and Methods : This is a retrospective study of a total of 2217 burn patients who were admitted to JNMCH, AMU between July 2007 and July 2011. All burned women have been included and no exclusion criteria were used. Incidence of pregnancy in burned females, etiology, gestational age, total burn surface area, fate of pregnancy, duration of hospitalization, and the relationship between mentioned items were studied. Results : Out of a total of 2217 patients studied 954 of them were female of whom 685 were in the reproductive age group and 87 of these females were pregnant. 76 burnt mothers had sustained burns less than 50% TBSA. 19 mothers died as a result of burns of whom 14 had burns more than 50% TBSA. All fetuses died of mothers burnt more than 50% TBSA, while fetal mortality was 62.5% in burns involving 31-50% of TBSA and fetal mortality was 2.5% in burns with TBSA less than 30%. Conclusion : Both maternal and fetal mortality are directly proportional to the TBSA and best care should be offered to such patients suffering burns during pregnancy by a special multidisciplinary team experienced in managing such critical patients.

Language: en