Pre-hospital practices in burn patients presenting to a tertiary care center of Nepal: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Burns represent a significant global health issue, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study investigates the understanding of first aid for burns and, practice of first aid among burn victims and/or their caretakers in Nepal. Methods: A descriptive, single-center cross-sectional study of burn patients admitted to a dedicated tertiary burn care hospital over 12 months was done. Structured questionnaires were used to interview the patients, and in cases where patients were unable to provide information, caregivers were interviewed. Descriptive statistics were used to present the findings. Results: 196 patients were included with a mean age of 37 years and 53% were male. Most burn incidents (72.4%) occurred at home in the afternoon and were flame burns (53%). 23% of patients knew burn first aid, with family members being the source of knowledge. First aid was administered at the site of the incident for 66% and 75% were resuscitated within the initial 24-hour period. Before presenting to our center, 53% had visited one medical facility and 23% had visited two medical facilities with the median time to reach our center being 32 hours. The primary reason for referral was the unavailability of plastic surgery and burn teams. Conclusions: The findings underscore inadequate burn prevention understanding, limited first aid awareness, counterproductive local health practices, and substantial delays in accessing advanced medical facilities in Nepal. There is an unmet need for community education and strengthening peripheral institutions to improve burn patient outcomes in Nepal.