• Dolly Marcela Zapata and Alejandro Estrada.
• Departamento de Medicina Física y Rehabilitación, Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paúl, Medellín, Colombia. dolly4056@gmail.com
• Biomedica. 2010 Oct 1;30(4):492-500.

IntroductionBurn injuries affect the quality of life of the injured as a consequence of deformities and loss of bodily function. Objective. Changes in the quality of life related to the health were described in the people who had been affected by burns.Materials And MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in Medellín, Colombia, enrolled 130 people who suffered burns in the period 2001-2005. A standard quality-of-life survey consisting of 36 questions (the SF-36 scale) was administered. Statistical data were tested with Mann Whitney-U, Student-t, ANOVA, and Kruskal Wallis. Ethical considerations were met within the framework of resolution 8430/93 of the Colombian Ministry of National Health.ResultsThe number of burns showed an increasing trend each year. Men were most often affected (66.9%) and severe burns were the most common (58%). The main burn sources were the fire flames, targeted attacks and gunpowder burns. The component of change of health upper obtained the average (55.3±19.2) and those of emotional performance (30.2±42.9), and physical performance (31.1±43.6) lowest, finding significant differences in those of physical performance (p=0.039) and general health (p=0.034) according to burn degree.ConclusionIn spite some inconsistency, the most affected quality-of-life components were the physical and emotional performance, with an overall presentation of a low quality-of-life related to health.

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