Periodicidad semestral: flujo continuo.
ISSN - Electrónico: 2661-6947 / DOI: 10.36015 • LILACS BIREME (19784); LATINDEX (20666)
INTRODUCTION: Burn injuries significantly affect patients’ physical and psychological
health, as well as their quality of life, representing a major burden for healthcare systems. In Ecuador, epidemiological studies on burns are limited, hindering the implementation of effective prevention policies.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the epidemiological profile of patients hospitalized in the Burn Unit of the Carlos Andrade Marín Hospital (HECAM) during the period
2020–2024.
METHODOLOGY: An observational, descriptive, longitudinal, and retrospective study was conducted, including all patients admitted to the burn unit during the study period (N=364). Quantitative variables were analyzed using measures of central tendency and dispersion; bivariate analysis was performed with the Spearman correlation, Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal- Wallis test. Qualitative
variables were analyzed through frequencies, percentages, and chi-square tests, with statistical significance set at p<0.05.
RESULTS: The mean age was 46.15 years; the higher prevalence was
among men (67.5%; ratio men: women 2.08:1). Burns occurred mainly during occupational (35.44%) and domestic (30.95%) activities. The most frequent
etiological agent was fire (32.14%), followed by hot liquids (25%) and electricity (20.05%). The mean total body surface area affected was 16%, with 27.2% classified as major burns. A total of 78.85% of patients required surgical management (mean 3.02 procedures per patient), and the average time to
specialized care was 58 hours. Local complications occurred in 25% of patients, systemic complications in 22.8%, and mortality reached 1.37%, with septic shock as the main cause of death.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings are consistent with international reports, showing a predominance of male patients and thermal burns by fire. Results highlight the
need to strengthen occupational and domestic burn prevention programs and to establish national epidemiological registries for improved healthcare planning.
1. Carrillo Esper R. Quemaduras: abordaje integral. Volumen 1-2 [En Línea]. Ciudad de México: Editorial Alfil, S. A. de C. V. 2021 [consultado 09 Apr 2025]. Disponible en: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carlos-Agustin-Paz/publication/358561973_SERIOUS_BURNS_THROUGH_HISTORY/links/6207d465afa8884cabdd2275/
SERIOUS-BURNS-THROUGH-HISTORY.pdf
2. Andrade Ponce AC, Soria Álvarez CE, Aguirre Esparza KL, Viteri Calvopiña MJ, Ramírez Barba CM, Calvopiña Alvarez CD, et al. Actualización en el manejo de las quemaduras: Artículo
de revisión: Update on burn management: Review article. LATAM [Internet]. 12 de agosto de 2024;5(4). Available from: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=9709695
3. Organización Mundial de la Salud. Burns. 2023. [Internet]. [citado 11 de marzo de 2025]. Disponible en: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/burns
4. Opriessnig E, Luze H, Smolle C, Draschl A, Zrim R, Giretzlehner M, et al. Epidemiology of burn injury and the ideal dressing in global burn care - Regional differences explored. Burns. 2023
February 01;49(1):1–14. DOI: 10.1016/j.burns.2022.06.018. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35843806/
5. Mathonsi K, Arko-Cobbah E. Outcomes of burns patients in a developing country: A single centre’s experience. S Afr Med J. 2023 October 23;113(10):49–53. DOI: 10.7196/SAMJ.2023.v113i10.1029. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37881907/
6. Abarca L, Guilabert P, Martin N, Usua G, Barret JP, Colomina MJ. Epidemiology and mortality in patients hospitalized for burns in Catalonia, Spain. Sci Rep. 2023 September 01;13(1):14364–2. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40198-2
7. Yakupu A, Zhang J, Dong W, Song F, Dong J, Lu S. The epidemiological characteristic and trends of burns globally. BMC Public Health. 22 de agosto de 2022;22(1):1596. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13887-2. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35996116/
8. Rubio Gallegos F. Realidad de las Unidades de Quemados en Ecuador. Rev Argent Quemad. 2021;31(3):1-5. Available from: http://raq.fundacionbenaim.org.ar/wp-content/uploads/
2022/01/6.-PDF-ECUADOR.pdf
9. Jiménez Torres D. Caracterización epidemiológica y clínica de los pacientes con quemaduras ingresados en el Hospital General Isidro Ayora de Loja [Internet]. [Loja, Ecuador]: Universidad
Nacional de Loja; 2024 [citado 12 de marzo de 2025]. Disponible en: https://dspace.unl.edu.ec/jspui/bitstream/123456789/30192/1/DayannaElizabeth_Jimenez%20Torres.pdf
10. American Burn Association. Guidelines for Burn Patient Referral [Internet]. Chicago: American Burn Association; 2025 [citado 12 de marzo de 2025]. Available from:
11. Lee N, Patel A, Gomez M, et al. Global, regional, and national burden of burn injury by total body surface area (TBSA) Involvement from 1990 to 2021, with Projection of Prevalence
to 2050. Healthcare (Basel). 2025;13(16):112. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13162077. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/13/16/2077
12. Abu Ibaid AH, Hebron CA, Qaysse HA, Coyne MJ, Potokar TS, Shalltoot FA, et al. Epidemiology, etiology and knowledge, attitudes, and practices relating to burn injuries in Palestine:
A community-level research. International Wound Journal [Internet]. 2021 Nov 10 [cited 2025 Jul 16];19(5):1210–20. doi: 10.1111/iwj.13716. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9284619/
13. Feng B, Liu X, Shi Y, Jiang M, Chen Y, Wang Z, et al. Epidemiological features and temporal trends of burns and their subtypes, 1990–2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Regenesis Repair Rehabil. 2025;1(2):38–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rerere.2025.01.002
Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950575525000024
14. Radzikowska-Büchner E, Łopuszyńska I, Flieger W, Tobiasz M, Maciejewski R, Flieger J. An Overview of Recent Developments in the Management of Burn Injuries. International
Journal of Molecular Sciences [Internet]. 2023 Nov 15 [cited 2025 Jul 16];24(22):16357. doi: 10.3390/ijms242216357. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38003548
15. Van den Bosch AS, Verwilligen RAF, Pijpe A, Bosma E, van der Vlies CH, Lucas Y, Burchell GL, van Zuijlen PPM, Middelkoop E; National Burn Care, Education & Research group, the Netherlands. Outcomes of dermal substitutes in burns and burn scar reconstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Wound Repair Regen. 2024 Nov-Dec;32(6):960-978. doi:10.1111/wrr.13226. PMID:39435560; PMCID:PMC11584356. DOI: 10.1111/wrr.13226. Available
from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39435560/
16. Lou J, Zhu X, Xiang Z, Song J, Huang N, Jin G, Cui S, Fan Y, Li J. Efficacy of acellular dermal matrix in improving clinical outcomes in pediatric burns: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Pediatr Surg. 2025 May;60(5):162270. doi:10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2025.162270. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40086159/
17. Zhang Y, Li H, Wang J, Chen Z, Liu Y. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of burns in adults: a 6-year retrospective study in a major burn center in Suzhou China: A retrospective study. Front Public Health. 2024;12:1413986. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1413986. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11233725/
18. Greenhalgh DG. Sepsis in the burn patient: a different problem than sepsis in the general population. Burns Trauma. 2017;5:23.doi:10.1186/s41038-017-0089-5. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5547526/
19. Boehm D, Menke H. Sepsis in Burns-Lessons Learnt from Developments in the Management of Septic Shock. Medicina (Kaunas). 2021 December 24;58(1):26. doi: 10.3390/medicina58010026.
Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8779285/
20. Yan J, Hill WF, Rehou S, Pinto R, Shahrokhi S, Jeschke MG. Sepsis criteria versus clinical diagnosis of sepsis in burn patients:Avalidation of current sepsis scores. Surgery. 2018 December
01;164(6):1241–5. DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2018.05.053.Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30049483/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Medical-Scientific Journal CAMbios HECAM
