Hlela M B K M, du Toit C, Davies B
Forensic Toxicology Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2022 Dec 31;35(4):278-299. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Fire-related burns contribute significantly to the global burden of burn injury and mortality. Alcohol and/or drug intoxication poses a risk to burn and fire-related injury, whether intentional or unintentional, but such evidence is scarce in the African context. This review aimed to fill the knowledge gap on health determinants of fire-related morbidity and mortality regionally by investigating the role of alcohol and drug intoxication in such events. Using key concepts, an extensive search was performed on 25 databases for relevant publications. Eligible articles were critically appraised using the appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies (AXIS tool), adapted to the review's objectives and outcomes. A total of 42 articles were included, of which less than half were solely investigating burn/fire-related events. Others indirectly mentioned burn injuries as part of larger health burdens such as injury, trauma, violence and other diseases. The measurement of alcohol and/or drug intoxication was inconsistent between studies with varying results. Alcohol and drug impairment in burn incidents in Africa requires evidence-based epidemiological research, and this review illustrated the limited scope of this topic in current literature. Routine toxicological results from post-mortem examinations were identified as important data sources and several research recommendations were provided.
与火灾相关的烧伤对全球烧伤伤害和死亡率负担有重大影响。酒精和/或药物中毒会给烧伤及与火灾相关的伤害带来风险，无论其是有意还是无意造成的，但在非洲背景下，此类证据很少。本综述旨在通过调查酒精和药物中毒在此类事件中的作用，填补该地区与火灾相关的发病率和死亡率健康决定因素方面的知识空白。利用关键概念，在25个数据库中进行了广泛搜索以查找相关出版物。使用适用于本综述目标和结果的横断面研究评估工具（AXIS工具）对符合条件的文章进行严格评估。总共纳入了42篇文章，其中不到一半仅研究与烧伤/火灾相关的事件。其他文章则将烧伤作为诸如伤害、创伤、暴力和其他疾病等更大健康负担的一部分间接提及。不同研究之间对酒精和/或药物中毒的测量不一致，结果也各不相同。非洲烧伤事件中的酒精和药物损害需要基于证据的流行病学研究，本综述说明了当前文献中该主题的研究范围有限。尸检的常规毒理学结果被确定为重要的数据来源，并提供了若干研究建议。
