ABSTRACT

Objectives:

The aim of our study is to evaluate the frequency and the complications of burn injuries in epileptic patients and to specify the required measures to decrease the occurrence of these injuries.

Methods:

Socio-demographic data of patients with epilepsy who were admitted to our hospital’s burn center were retrospectively analyzed. The data used in our study are obtained from patient files and electronic registries.

Results:

Eighteen patients with burn injuries resulting from epileptic seizures were admitted to our center. Four (22%) patients were male and 14 (78%) were female. In 17 patients, the accident occurred in the home environment (94.4%) and outdoors in one patient (5.6%). The most frequently affected sites of burns were right arm and forearm. Burn percentage ranged between 3% and 17% and the mean percentage was 9.5%. Burn degrees ranged between 2 and 3. Four patients had 2nd degree burns while 14 patients had 3rd degree burns. All patients underwent escharotomy in the early stage and the wound site was covered with a silver burn dressing. Split-thickness skin graft was performed in only one patient since there were burnt areas that did not heal.

Conclusion:

Since the unpredictable epileptic seizures lead to loss of consciousness and accidental burn injuries, it was revealed in our study that patients with epilepsy should be classified as a high-risk population considering the sudden state of their seizures. Early surgical intervention, targeting all epilepsy patients for training and taking specific preventive measures result in positive outcomes.