Self-inflicted burn injuries: An 11-year retrospective study

The burns unit at the Royal Brisbane Hospital accepted a total of 2275 admi ssions from 1986 to 1996. During this 11-year period, 65 cases of self-infl icted burn injury were treated, which made up 2.9% of the total number of a dmissions. A mortality rate of 21.5% (14 patients) is noted, with all patie nts dying after admission to the hospital. A common feature of people that self-inflict burn injuries is a psychiatric history, with many patients hav ing histories of self-harm or suicide attempts. Two distinct groups were id entified-those with suicidal intent and those with intent of self-harm. Tho se patients with self-inflicted injuries have an increased mean of 31.4% to tal body surface area burned as compared with those patients whose injuries are accounted for as accidental, which have a mean total body surface area burned of 10%. Additionally, the mean length of stay in the hospital for p atients with self-inflicted injuries was 40 days for acute injuries, which is prolonged; the mean length of stay for acute injuries that were not self -inflicted was 14 days. This investigation discovered 3 cases of repeated s elf-inflicted burn injury.