Prevalence of HIV Infection among Burn Patients: Is There a Relationship with Patients' Outcomes?

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among acute burn patients and its impacts on patient's outcomes in an Iranian burn care hospital. 

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary burn care hospital in Iran, retrospectively reviewing the data records of all patients admitted between February 2011 and February 2012. The HIV status of all the patients was assessed in relation to clinical outcomes and the patient's prognosis. 

A total of 969 patients were included in this study. Five patients (0·5%) were HIV positive, and all of them were male. Mean burn area was significantly larger in HIV-positive patients than the healthy group (P < 0·05). HIV-positive patients had a longer period of hospitalisation than HIV-negative patients (23·2 ± 16·3 versus 13·1 ± 14·6, P = 0·008). 

Nonetheless, the average number of procedures and the mortality rate did not significantly differ between the study groups (P > 0·05). 

Comparison of age, sex and burn extent between HIV-positive patients and HIV-negative cases also revealed similar results. 

Prevalence of HIV infection among our burn population was 0·5%; thus, HIV status may be related with more extensive injuries and longer hospital stays

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By:   Salehi SH1,2, As'adi K2,3, Tabatabaeenezhad SA2, Naderan M2,4, Shoar S1,2,4.

• 1Department of Surgery, Motahari Burn Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
• 2Burn Research Center, Motahari Burn Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
• 3Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, St. Fatima Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
• 4Department of Surgery, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Scinecs, Tehran, Iran. 

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The Social Construction of ‘Dowry Deaths’

Below:  Possible pathways for classification of death of a woman as a result of burns

The classification of cause of death is real in its consequences: for the reputation of the deceased, for her family, for those who may be implicated, and for epidemiological and social research and policies and practices that may follow from it. The study reported here refers specifically to the processes involved in classifying deaths of women from burns in India. In particular, it examines the determination of ‘dowry death’, a class used in India, but not in other jurisdictions. Classification of death is situated within a framework of special legal provisions intended to protect vulnerable women from dowry-related violence and abuse. The findings are based on 33 case studies tracked in hospital in real time, and interviews with 14 physicians and 14 police officers with experience of dealing with burns cases. The formal class into which any given death is allocated is shown to result from motivated accounting processes representing the interests and resources available to the doctors, victims, victim families, the victim’s husband and his family, and ultimately, the police. These processes may lead to biases in research and to injustice in the treatment of victims and alleged offenders. Suggestions are made for methods of ameliorating the risks.

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