Shift in burns trend in Bengaluru hospital: Accidental causes outpace homicidal cases | Bengaluru News – The Times of India

Bengaluru: There has been a distinct shift in burn injury trends at Victoria Hospital, which houses one of the largest burns units in the city. Earlier, a significant proportion of cases was linked to homicidal acts such as acid attacks, dowry harassment, and other forms of domestic violence. But the pattern has changed in the last five years. Most cases are now caused by LPG cylinder explosions and other accidents.Alarmingly, nearly 25% of burn injury patients are children. Between 2020 and Aug 2025, hospital data shows that 1,419 children were admitted to the burns ward. The number has been steadily rising, from 101 cases in 2020 to 226 in 2024. Injuries caused by hot liquids or steam form a large proportion of paediatric cases.“Paediatric burn cases have increased, especially in nuclear families. Despite parents’ best efforts, children often enter kitchens and suffer injuries. We see many cases where children dip their hands into hot water or sambar/curry and suffer burns when a parent is briefly in another room,” says Dr Yogishwarappa CN, professor and head of the department of plastic surgery and burns, Victoria Hospital.Most victims admitted to the Mahabodhi burns ward a few years ago were women facing domestic violence. “The number of women coming to the ward with burns has reduced over the years. We cannot say we don’t see them at all, but the non-availability of kerosene primarily contributed to fewer homicidal and suicidal cases,” explains Dr Yogishwarappa.The burns unit reported homicidal cases in single digits every year over the past five years, while suicidal cases range between 20 and 45 annually.Aweksha, an NGO that supports female burn victims at Victoria Hospital, confirmed this trend. “Female admissions have come down compared to male admissions at Victoria. Dowry-related cases have reduced as greater awareness has been created about the consequences of burn injuries. Other kinds of problems like suspicion persist, and women continue to die due to unnatural causes other than fire,” said Sathya Devi from Aweksha.Of late, doctors have been seeing couples admitted together after sustaining burns from explosions of LPG cylinders in kitchens or gas geysers in poorly ventilated bathrooms.“Almost half of the victims in such incidents are migrant workers who are ineligible for most state-run treatment schemes. In some instances, money from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, which supports the treatment of poor patients, is used for their care,” adds Dr Yogishwarappa.Male patients outnumber womenIn the last five years, male admissions (2,563) consistently outnumbered female admissions (1,264) in the burns ward. “Unlike before, we now see men dying from burns. Most of these are suicide attempts where petrol is poured on the body, often triggered by financial troubles or domestic disputes. Alcoholism is also a factor in many of these cases,” says Dr Yogishwarappa.In some cases, men attempting to threaten or blackmail their wives with gas leaks or fire get severely injured themselves. “We have come across cases where women, empowered by the free bus scheme, leave abusive husbands and return to their parental homes. Husbands then land near the parents’ houses and burn themselves when the wives refuse to reconcile,” says Sathya from Aweksha.Box: Precautions After Fire Broke Out in Burns Unit in JulyAn accidental fire caused by a short circuit broke out in the seminar room of the burns block at Victoria Hospital on July 1. “We have replaced all the electric circuits in the building where the seminar hall is located. The civil work is still ongoing in one of the fire-affected rooms. We also routinely check the electric wiring in all other hospital blocks. All buildings have now been equipped with fire extinguishers and other safety tools in line with prescribed norms,” said Dr Deepak S, medical superintendent, Victoria Hospital.MSID:: 124214817 413 |