Epidemiology and Outcome Analysis of Refugees in the Burn Intensive Care Unit: Experience of a Burn Center in Turkey.

Abstract

After the civil war, which caused the migration crisis in Syria, several Syrian refugees immigrated to Turkey. Burn trauma is quite common in refugees who migrated after the war. This study aims to examine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of refugee patients in a burn center located on Turkey's Syrian border (southeastern region). A total of 1200 patients in the present study were admitted between January 2016 and June 2023 in intensive care units and/or service units of the 25 Aralık State Hospital Burn Center. The data of these patients were obtained retrospectively from the database of the 25 Aralık State Hospital. Of the 1,200 patients, 696 were Turkish citizens, and 504 were refugees. The percentage of burns (total body surface area) was observed to be higher for the refugees (p <0.05). In addition, the mortality rates were higher for refugees (p <0.05). The refugee factor should also be considered in preventing burns and in developing policies for it.