National multicentric study on the incidence of alcohol burns during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Burns are traumatic wounds that occur when skin is exposed to an amount of energy greater than its maximum dissipation capacity. Alcohol, because it fuels flames and its vapor can cause an explosion, is one of the most common causal agents of burns in Brazil. In late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden and substantial increase in the use of 70% alcohol (w/v) for antisepsis. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of alcohol burns during the COVID-19 pandemic in participating Burn Treatment Centers, as well as the severity and treatment of these burns. METHOD: Descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative and retrospective study based on data obtained from medical records of patients treated in participating Burn Treatment Centers. Data collection included origin, gender, education level, occupation, circumstance of the accident, wound depth and type of treatment. RESULTS: Of eight participating centers, theHospital da Restauraç ão Gov. Paulo Guerra Burn Treatment Center experienced the highest number of alcohol burn patients (38.4%) and male gender accounted for 53.6% of all cases. Predominant occupations were those that involve domestic activities (29%) and 48.6% of patients had not completed elementary school. The most common cause was an accident during cooking (35.5%) followed by suicide attempt (18.3%). More than half (58.6%) of the patients had concomitant second and third degree burns and wound treatment of choice was surgical (43.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The predominant population in this study was male, had a lower level of education, resided in the northeast region and had an occupation carried out in a domestic environment. The latter may reflect the population's longer stay at home due to social constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. There were a large number of second and third degree burns and, as a consequence, a high number of cases in which surgical treatment was required.