Article

Analysis of burns caused by pre-filled gas canisters used for lamps or portable camping stoves

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  • Centre médical Alliance
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Abstract

The use of pre-filled valveless gas canisters for lamps or camping stoves has caused a number of serious burn incidents. We performed a retrospective analysis of all of the patients who were victims of such incidents admitted to the Marseille Burn Centre between January 1990 and March 2004. There were a total of 21 patients burned in such conditions. Adult males made up the majority of the victims of this sort. Lesions were often extensive (60% of the patients were burned over more than 10% of their body surface) and systematically deep. In order of frequency, burn locations were: the lower limbs, the upper limbs, the hands and the face. The incidents principally occurred during replacement of the canister near an open flame. The marketing of a canister with a valve in order to avoid gas leaks did not cause the old canisters to be taken off the market. On the contrary, European Safety Standard EN417, updated in October 2003, validated the use of these valveless canisters. The severity of the lesions caused and the existence of safe equivalent products requires the passage of a law that forbids valveless canisters.

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... The intention is to obtain modifications in the relevant laws by promoting prevention at national and local levels, together with the promulgation of safety standards to be observed not only in the planning and realization of particular structures and buildings, but also in the legal regulation of industrial production to protect the public through product modification especially in the field of baby and children clothing, electric household appliances and toys, etc. . . [1,69]. This implies active implication of local administrative authorities and social orientation and commitment of politicians for the welfare and well-being of citizens. ...
... During the 1960s, a milestone in fire safety was achieved through research on various types of natural and synthetic fiber clothing ignition characteristics and regulatory activities for flammable fabrics [14,89]. The Flammable Fabric Act was instituted in the U.S. in 1967 to permit the regulation of a broad range of consumer products, including carpets, mattresses, upholstered furniture, tents, curtains, sleeping bags, and children's clothing [69]. Safety standards for children's sleepwear in sizes 0 through 6X were also imposed [14]. ...
Article
Burns are responsible for significant mortality and morbidity worldwide and are among the most devastating of all injuries, with outcomes spanning the spectrum from physical impairments and disabilities to emotional and mental consequences. Management of burns and their sequelae even in well-equipped, modern burn units of advanced affluent societies remains demanding and extremely costly. Undoubtedly, in most low and middle income countries (LMICs) with limited resources and inaccessibility to sophisticated skills and technologies, the same standard of care is obviously not possible. Unfortunately, over 90% of fatal fire-related burns occur in developing or LMICs with South-East Asia alone accounting for over half of these fire-related deaths. If burn prevention is an essential part of any integrated burn management protocol anywhere, focusing on burn prevention in LMICs rather than treatment cannot be over-emphasized where it remains the major and probably the only available way of reducing the current state of morbidity and mortality.
... [6] Furthermore, study by Tarim [5] showed that the growing use of LPG has caused many burn accidents in Turkey. In developed nations, LPG accidents have resulted in numerous accidents, comprising cold burns while refueling a car, [11][12][13] burn injuries at the time of prefilling gas containers for lamps or stoves [14] and burn injuries while using LPG for household barbeques. [15] Conversely, limited literature is available on this topic in Pakistan. ...
Article
High-pressure cylinders are used to store Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). An instant and swift explosion of these cylinders can result in serious burn injuries. This current research was conducted to study the epidemiological characteristics of LPG-related burns to highlight a major public health issue. Analysis was conducted on patients with LPG-related burns over a span of 10 years admitted to our centre between January 2011 and December 2020. The data recorded included demographic features, site of burn, %TBSA, associated injuries, and outcomes. The variable data were documented for every patient in a Microsoft Excel file and analyzed by IBM SPSS version 25.0. Over the span of 10 years, 678 patients were affected from LPG-related accidents. The peak incidence was seen in 2019 when there was a surge to 18.03%. The patient’s age ranged from 1 to 79 years, with a median of 40.86 ± 15.27 years. Of the 678 patients, 52.50% were males and 47.50% were females. The majority (57.96%) of patients had a total body surface area (TBSA) of >60% and 86.72% were diagnosed with inhalation injury. The majority of burns (84.66%) occurred at home. Mean hospital stay was 24.5 days. The total mortality rate was 59.58%. This study concludes that, LPG cylinder blast is a preventable cause which can be minimized by making people aware of its safe use, by arranging awareness programs at every national level.
... Moreover, Tarim [1] found that the increasing use of LPG as a cooking or heating fuel has resulted in many burns in Turkey, which is also a developing country. In developed countries, LPG mishaps have resulted in several accidents, including sustaining cold burn while refueling a car [6][7][8], burns while prefilling gas canisters for lamps or stoves [9] and burns while using LPG for domestic barbeques [10]. However, few studies have been conducted on this topic in China. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: The incidence of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-related burns has increased over recent years, and it has become a serious public health issue in developing countries such as India and Turkey. This paper aims to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of LPG-related burns to provide assistance and suggestions for planning prevention strategies. Methods: A 5-year retrospective study was conducted in patients with LPG-related burns admitted to the Department of Burns & Wound Care Center, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, College of Medicine, between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2015. Information obtained for each patient included age, gender, education status, occupation, medical insurance, average hospital cost, length of hospital stay, monthly distribution of incidence, place of burns, mechanism of burns, extent of burns, site of burns, accompanying injuries, and treatment outcomes. Results: For the first 4 years (2011-2014), the yearly incidence of LPG-related burns was at approximately 10% of all burns; however, in the fifth year (2015) alone, there was a surge to 26.94%. A total of 1337 burn patients were admitted during this period. Of these, 195 patients were admitted because of 169 LPG-related accidents; there were 11 accidents involving more than one victim. LPG-related burns occurred most frequently in patients aged 21-60 years (73.85%). The majority of injuries occurred from May to August (56.41%), and the most common place was home (83.08%, 162 patients). Gas leak (81.03%) was the main cause of LPG-related burns, followed by inappropriate operation (7.69%) and cooking negligence (2.05%). The mean burn area was 31.32±25.40% of TBSA. The most common sites of burns were the upper extremities (37.47%), followed by the head/face and neck (24.80%) and lower extremities (19.95%). The most common accompanying injuries included inhalation injury (23.59%), shock (8.71%), and external injury (7.18%). The average hospital stay was 22.90±19.47days (range 2-84 days). Only 48 patients (24.62%) had medical insurance, while 124 patients (63.59%) had no medical insurance. The average hospital cost of the no medical insurance group was significantly higher (p<0.0001) than that of the medical insurance group. In addition, 72.73% of patients who left against medical advice (LAMA) were uninsured. The number of patients who recovered at our hospital was 165 (84.62%), while 22 patients (11.28%) LAMA. The overall mortality rate was 4.10% (8 patients). Conclusion: Our study shows that the exponential increase in LPG-related burns is alarming. This calls for rigorous precautions. Because gas leak was the main cause of LPG-related burns, any part of LPG stove system that shows signs of weathering should be replaced regularly. In addition, we also found that most of the LAMA patients were uninsured. Thus, comprehensive medical insurance should be involved early in the recovery process to assure a safe and adequate discharge.
... As found in this study, portable or picnic gas stoves turn out to be a popular cooking or even heating appliance for everyday home usage in some households. Studies stress the relevant risks either in product safety and design or with mishandling or improper use of them [2]; [7]; [12]; [27]–[29]. ...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of injury specific home safety investigation and to examine the home safety status focused on burn related safety in a rural population in the North-West of Iran. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 rural households of rural Meshkinshahr, Iran. Cluster sampling method was used in 38 clusters with 7 households in each cluster. Clusters were selected on a probability proportional to size (PPS) basis using the available health census database called D-Tarh. Data were analyzed using the statistical software package STATA 8. Possible risks were explored in fields of house structure; cooking and eating attitudes and behaviors; cooking appliances, specific appliances such as picnic gas burners, valors (traditional heaters), samovars (traditional water boilers), and air-heating appliances. Many safety concerns were explored needing to draw the attention of researchers and public health policy makers. Injury specific home safety surveys are useful and may provide useful information for safety promotion interventions.
... Even if kerosene is still the most commonly used household fuel in our country the aim is to provide an improved understanding of this potential threat from increasing use of LPG. As following reports indicate several accidents have also resulted in the developed world from LPG mishaps; LPG powered cars [16][17][18][19], LPG tube explosions [20], pre-filled gas canisters for lamps and stoves [21], liquefied gas fired barbeques [22], and LPG disasters [23,24]. But, in spite of our vigorous search in 'pubmed' we did not get any information on pattern of domestic LPG injuries which are now showing an increasing trend. ...
Article
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Burns, an endemic public health problem has had a dynamic epidemiology in India, in sync with economic and social changes. In the last decade a major shift of kitchen fuel usage from kerosene to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas has resulted in an increase in the incidence of burns from LPG mishaps. This prospective descriptive study conducted in a tertiary care burn centre in an urban area aims to determine the causes of LPG related burns, its injury profile, identify the population at risk and also to determine the level of knowledge of users regarding the safety issue with LPG usage. In the study LPG burns accounted for 52.3% of the admitted flame burns. On the whole there were 33 incidents of LPG mishaps involving multiple victims. Most common age group affected was 26–50 years. Leakage from larger cylinders was more common and malfunction of valve/regulator was the most common cause. Level of knowledge was dismally low across all socioeconomic strata. Our study highlights impact of changing socioeconomic pattern of the country on burns epidemiology and the glaring lack of public awareness regarding safe management principles.
Article
The aim of this study is to understand the aetiological factors and pattern of burns caused by the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This hospital based study was conducted on consecutive patients admitted with major burns from September 2011 to August 2012. The data was recorded on predesigned data sheet. Age, gender, mode of injury, its exact mechanism, place of incidence, extent of burn and inhalation injury were recorded for every patient. 182 patients with LPG related burn injury were admitted in one year. This is 11% of total burn patients received during the same period (182/1656). 147 incidents caused these burns due to gas leak from various parts of the LPG cooking system. Leakage was either from the cylinder, pipe or stove in 52%, 36% and 2% incidents respectively. Human error accounted for 3% incidents while in 7% the mechanism could not be ascertained. Leakage from 5kg cylinder with pipe was the commonest aetiological factor. There were 14 group casualties with more than one victim involved. LPG related burns are preventable to a large extent. There is a need to improve the safety standards in the LPG stove system. Public awareness needs to be improved.
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Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a fuel that is widely used for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes. LPG is also commonly used in restaurants, industries, and cars; however, the home continues to be the main site for accidents. In Turkey, the increased usage of LPG as a cooking or heating fuel has resulted in many burn injuries from LPG mishaps. Between January 2000 and June 2011, 56 LPG-burned patients were compared with 112 flame-burned patients. There were no significant differences with respect to the mean age, sex, hospitalization time, and mortality in both groups. In the LPG-caused burn cases, 41 burns (73.2%) occurred at home, seven (12.5) were work-related mishaps, and eight (14.3) were associated with car accidents. The majority of the LPG burns (82%, 46 patients) resulted from a gas leak, and 18% of them were related to the failure to close LPG tubes in the patients' kitchens (10 patients). Burns to the face and neck (82 vs 67%, P = .039) and upper (62 vs 23%, P = .000) and lower (70 vs 45%, P = .002) extremities were significantly higher in LPG-caused burn cases than flame-burned cases. General awareness regarding the risk of LPG and first aid for burns appears to be lacking. The LPG delivery system should be standardized throughout countries that widely use LPG.
Article
Full-text available
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Due to its unique location, the South West England Paediatric Burns Service based in Bristol admits an interesting cohort of holiday-makers, who have sustained their burns whilst on camping and caravanning holidays. We aimed to establish whether burns sustained during camping and caravanning holidays are more severe and require more extensive intervention compared to burns sustained in other situations. We undertook a retrospective, observational study of admissions to the South West Paediatric Burns Service between June, and August from 2003 to 2005. Our primary outcome was to assess the severity of the burns as defined by percentage total body surface area of partial and full thickness burns. We used secondary outcomes of indirect indicators of burn severity: length of hospital stay, number of general anaesthetics, and need for surgical debridement, artificial skin dressing and/or skin grafting. Analysis of the data was undertaken using Mann-Whitney test, Fisher's exact test, and Chi-squared test. 151 patients were included in the study, 30 (20%) of which were campers. Our results show that burns sustained during camping and caravanning holidays are significantly more likely to be of larger surface area than burns sustained in other environments. Campers' burns also required more frequent surgical intervention (in 87% versus 66%) and had longer inpatient admissions (5.3 days versus 3.8 days). Our results have implications for clinicians and campsite owners. Access to free flowing water is often not immediately available on campsites and time taken to reach the nearest Emergency Department is often prolonged with a further delay before reaching the tertiary centre. The general public needs to be aware of the risks of burn during camping and caravanning holidays. Campsite owners should consider improving first aid facilities and clinicians need to be aware of the need for early referral and timely transfer to tertiary facilities.
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