Forjuoh S N
Department of Family & Community Medicine, Scott & White Memorial Hospital, Scott & White Santa Fe-Century Square, 1402 West Avenue H, Temple, TX 76504, USA.
Burns. 2006 Aug;32(5):529-37. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2006.04.002. Epub 2006 Jun 14.
Burn prevention requires adequate knowledge of the epidemiological characteristics and associated risk factors. While much has been accomplished in the areas of primary and secondary prevention of fires and burns in many developed or high-income countries (HICs), such as the United States, due to sustained research on the descriptive epidemiology and risk factors, the same cannot be said of developing or low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To move from data to action and assist preventive efforts in LMICs, a review of the available literature was conducted to assess the current status of burn preventive efforts. A MEDLINE search (1974-2003) was conducted on empirical studies published in English on the descriptive epidemiology, risk factors, treatment, and prevention of burns in LMICs. Review of the 117 identified studies revealed basically the same descriptive epidemiological characteristics but slightly different risk factors of burns including the presence of pre-existing impairments in children, lapses in child supervision, storage of flammable substances in the home, low maternal education, and overcrowding as well as several treatment modalities and preventive efforts including immediate application of cool water to a burned area. Continuous evaluation of promising interventions and those with unknown efficacy that have been attempted in LMICs, along with testing interventions that have proven effective in HICs in these LIMC settings, is needed to spearhead the move from data to action in preventing burns in LMICs.
预防烧伤需要充分了解其流行病学特征及相关风险因素。尽管在许多发达国家或高收入国家（如美国），在火灾和烧伤的一级和二级预防领域已经取得了很大成就，这得益于对描述性流行病学和风险因素的持续研究，但发展中国家或低收入和中等收入国家（LMICs）的情况并非如此。为了将数据转化为行动并协助LMICs的预防工作，我们对现有文献进行了综述，以评估烧伤预防工作的现状。我们对1974年至2003年期间以英文发表的关于LMICs烧伤的描述性流行病学、风险因素、治疗和预防的实证研究进行了MEDLINE检索。对117项已确定的研究进行综述后发现，烧伤的描述性流行病学特征基本相同，但风险因素略有不同，包括儿童存在先前的损伤、儿童监护失误、家中易燃物质的储存、母亲教育程度低、过度拥挤，以及几种治疗方式和预防措施，包括立即对烧伤部位应用冷水。需要对LMICs中已尝试的有前景的干预措施和疗效未知的干预措施进行持续评估，并在这些LMICs环境中测试在HICs中已证明有效的干预措施，以推动在LMICs预防烧伤方面从数据到行动的转变。
