ETUDE EPIDEMIOLOGIQUE DES IMMOLATIONS PRIS EN CHARGE AU CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE MOHAMMED VI DE MARRAKECH : A PROPOS DE 48 CAS

Immolation by fire is an impulsive, traumatic gesture towards patients and medical professionals. The consequences of this behavior are drastic on the therapeutic, functional and financial levels. A descriptive and retrospective study on immolations treated at the MOHAMMED VI University Hospital in MARRAKESH between 2016 and 2023 was conducted in order to analyze the epidemiological and clinical data of immolations as well as their prevalence compared to other developed or developing countries. Between 2016 and 2023, 830 patients were hospitalized in our ward, 48 of them, were victims of immolation (5.7%). The average age was 32.2 years, mostly men (77%). Most patients were from rural areas (62.5%) and 70% were unemployed. 2% of patients suffered from a psychiatric history and 38% were drug addicts, regardless of their gender. Marital conflicts represented 38.5% and was the main cause of getting immolated , then family causes came in second with 15.4%. Gasoline was the most used product by patients with (86.4%) then white spirit (6.8%). For the clinical data, the average total body surface area was 35.1% , 86,4% of patients had an associated burns concerning their face, anterior trunk and upper limbs. All victims suffered from deep burns (second and third degree burns). Several scores were analyzed, the average UBS was 60.8 with 23.1% of patients presenting serious burns with an UBS > 100. Thus, 38.5% of those immolated patients had an ABSI between 8-12 with a survival <50%. The average length of hospitalization was 10.5 days, of which 68.5% of patients survived, depending on functional and aesthetic after-effects. We reported 38,5% of patients were dead. Immolation represents, a serious public health problem due to its dimensions and its serious social and economic consequences.