Explosive burns following inhalation of butane gas.

Lee, Sang Eun; Burm, Jin Sik; Chung, Chul Hoon; Oh, Suk Joon

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons 1998;25(8):1480-1483.
Published online December 1, 1998.

Explosive burns following inhalation of butane gas.

Sang Eun Lee, Jin Sik Burm, Chul Hoon Chung, Suk Joon Oh

Abstract

Explosive burns following inhalation of butane gas rarely occurred in the past, but recently it has brought about a social problem among groups of teenagers. This constitutes 1.6% of admissions due to flame burn in the burn unit of Hallym Medical Center. A retrospective review during a five-year period identified 48 patients. The male to female ratio was 3:1. The mean age was 16 years and 8 months. The place of accidents were commonly bedrooms or motel rooms. There were nine group settings of 27 patients at the time of the accident. The pneumothorax(n=3) and respiratory difficulty(n=12) were noted on admission. The average burn area was 28.5% of the total body surface area. All patients sustained burn injury on the face, arms and hands, and 24 patients among them had extended burn areas on the trunk and/or lower extremity. Twenty-two patients(mean hospital stay; 51.6%) required skin grafting, and 12 patients (mean hospital stay; 22.3 days) were treated with conservative management. The mortality rate was 10.4 percent. Explosive burns following inhalation of butane gas can result in mortality as well as major burn injuries.