international trends
Last reviewed 10/2022
With respect to thermal injuries in the United Kingdom:
- 0.4-1.0% of the population sustains every year - average of around 100,000
- 10% require hospital admission
- 10% of those requiring admission will have life-threatening injuries
In the United States:
- more than 2 million thermal injuries occur annually
- 70,000 admissions
- more than 5,000 deaths annually
In the Third World, the rate of burn injury, morbidity and mortality is far greater. The reasons for this are manifold and include:
- inherently more dangerous cooking and heating practices
- poor labour laws with greater exposure to burning agents
- less developed health infrastructure for treating injury rapidly and appropriately