Characteristics of Burn Patients Transported by Ambulance to Treatment Facilities in Akita Prefecture, Japan

This study analyzes patient demographics and injury data of 342 patients transported by ambulance to emergency facilities in Akita Prefecture, Japan, between 1996 and 2000. Fire was the most frequent cause of burns. Suicide rate in Akita Prefecture is high, the percentage of burn patients due to suicide attempts was 7.9%. The mean time from burn injury to hospital arrival was significantly longer for patients who later died than for those who survived. Severely burned patients were not always transported directly to a core emergency facility and an unacceptable number (5.8%) of patients died at a tertiary hospital. (14 refs.)