Study of Pre-hospital Emergency Care Assessment on Burned Patients Referred to Hospitals in Tabriz, Northwest Iran

Background: In all burn care systems; first aid, covering, and transferring burn-injury patients to the hospital all have an important role in managing and achieving a successful outcome. It seems there are wide differences in the main methods of providing first aid and pre-hospital care on burn patients. Despite several researches, the epidemiological specifications, level of care, as well as offered treatments is various in different regions. Objectives: This study was performed to determine the various aspects of pre-hospital management of burn patients in Sina and other hospitals affiliated to the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this retrospective study, data of 100 patients admitted from 2014 to 2015 were collected. According to the standard questionnaire, transferring patients, training of technicians, and quality of pre-hospital treatment were checked out and recorded in the questionnaires, then data were analyzed by the SPSS v.21 software. Results: Regarding the status of EMS technicians, only 30% of them were trained; in 22% of accidents, before dispatching, coordination with the burn center had been done. The total mortality rate was 13%. In all the burn cases reported, temperature regulation of inner ambulance environment hadn’t been measured. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the level of emergency burn management and training is relatively low and therefore the strengthening of pre-hospital emergency management training is recommended. In order to prevent and reduce the incidence and mortality rate of burns, short and long term plans should be formulated. It is recommended that courses such as EMS training for technicians in the field of pre-hospital care, burn training in the hospitals for proper communication, and transferring to a primary care center needed to be done.