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Self‐Inflicted Burns: The Value of Collaboration Between Medicine and Law
Author(s) -
Franchitto Nicolas,
Faurie Cécile,
Franchitto Ludivine,
Minville Vincent,
Telmon Norbert,
Rougé Daniel
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.01706.x
Subject(s) - accidental , medicine , total body surface area , poison control , injury prevention , autopsy , epidemiology , burn center , suicide prevention , population , occupational safety and health , emergency medicine , medical emergency , demography , surgery , environmental health , pathology , physics , sociology , acoustics
Self‐inflicted burns are rare in France, but they lead to major, often life‐threatening complications. The authors reviewed medical data for patients hospitalized in a burn center from January 2004 to December 2008. Thirty‐eight cases of self‐inflicted burns were compared with 220 accidental burns. Women were predominantly affected (57.9%, n = 22). A psychiatric history (71%, n = 27) was more frequent in this population. The mean age of the victims was 38 years. The leading method of suicide was flame (94%, n = 36) associated with gasoline used as an accelerant (77.7%, n = 28). Mean total burn surface area (41.5%) and mortality (36.9%) were higher in the self‐inflicted burn population. By recognizing epidemiological characteristics and patients at risk, we can better classify lesions related to self‐immolation. It is important for the forensic physician to consult survival details to correlate these data with the results of autopsy.