IMS and Sum Hospital to hold national seminar on burns on Oct 5

OST Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 3:

The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) and Sum Hospital, under the aegis of Siksha O’ Anusandhan (SOA) University, will organize a national seminar on burns on October 5.

The seminar, to be attended by international, national and regional experts, would focus on improving the primary healthcare of burn victims, said Dr Jayant Kumar Dash, associate professor and head of the Department of Burn, Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery at the IMS and Sum Hospital, at a press briefing here on Thursday.

The seminar would be endorsed by the National Academy of Burns with the slogan ‘Give burn victims a hope’ and ‘Treat burns effectively’.

“Lack of primary care is the biggest reason for the high morbidity and mortality all over the country with an estimated one to two million of the six to seven million new patients entering the register every year succumbing to the injuries,” Dash said.

He said the treatment of burn injury is yet to get the attention it requires as there are less than 50 burn care centres in the entire country with Odisha having only two in the SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack and the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) at Rourkela.
The country also does not have a prevention program at the national level to avert burn accidents and had few burn surgeons and less than 1500 plastic surgeons, he informed.

Replying to questions, Dash said even with up to 70 per cent burn injury, a patient can survive if given proper treatment and care. Skin grafting has provided hope for restoration of the damaged areas, he said.

“A person, after suffering burns, should treat the affected area with normal tap water. No ice should be applied as it could lead to hypothermia,” he added.

Most burn casualties are reported from rural areas and the victims belong to the lower socio-economic strata. While their access to proper burn care is limited, the cost of treatment is expensive because of the long duration of stay of the patient in the hospital and the high cost of antibiotics and dressing material, Dash said. The need of the hour is to provide training to doctors at the periphery level for adequate treatment, he added.