MADURAI: While the incidence of burn-injury cases due to firecracker explosions and patient-deaths due to burns has come down significantly, a new pattern of such cases has emerged at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), a tertiary care medical centre in Madurai.
According to a GRH specialist, there’s an increase in self-immolation cases due to domestic violence triggered by alcoholism.
Experts in the plastic surgery department said that apart from firecracker injuries, the hospital data show a new pattern of burn cases wherein fights between couples triggered by husband’s alcoholism many a time ending in self-immolation attempts by wife.
Many times the husband also suffers severe burns while trying to douse the fire to save the spouse. TNIE spoke to the department experts, who got these details based on their enquiries with the burn-injury patients.
Throwing light on the new pattern, Dr S Aram, HOD (plastic surgery), GRH, Madurai, said, “Most of the burn-injury cases are referred from Virudhunagar district - a hub of firecracker production along with Sivakasi. Earlier we got cases wherein a person would have suffered burns as a consequence of dowry harassment and family fights with mother-in law. But now such cases are almost nil.
At present, cases of burns are related to family fights triggered by alcoholic husbands. The domestic fight between couples many times ends in either partner attempting self-immolation. The doctors at GRH have submitted a research paper titled, ‘Change in Scenarios in Burn Injuries’.”
As per GRH (Madurai) Dean, Dr Arul Sundaresh Kumar, over 366 people died due to burns at GRH (Madurai) in the past three years (2022-2024). According to official records, the number of patients’ arrivals at GRH Madurai for these years was - 2,769 people (in-patients), 167 people (deaths) - 2022; 2,079 people (in-patients), 117 people (deaths) - 2023; 2,110 people (in-patients), 82 people (deaths) -2024.
The drop in the number of burn-injury cases at GRH is also attributed to the availability of specialists, including plastic surgeons, at both Sivakasi and Virudhunagar government hospitals.
Dr Kumar said, “There could be many reasons for the drop in cases and death rate at the burns ward in GRH Madurai in the past three years. Primarily, it could be patients going to private hospitals for treatment. Many cases that came to our facility were from other districts. But since the Sivakasi Government Hospital and Virudhunagar Government Hospital are both equipped with a burns ward for the past two years, this could be a big reason that cases of burns are first referred to these facilities before coming to GRH Madurai."