• Nicolas Franchitto, Cécile Faurie, Ludivine Franchitto, Vincent Minville, Norbert Telmon, and Daniel Rougé.
• Department of Legal Medicine, Toulouse-Rangueil University Hospital, 1 Avenue Jean Poulhès, 31059 Toulouse, France. franchitto.n@chu-toulouse.fr
• J. Forensic Sci. 2011 May 1;56(3):638-42.

AbstractSelf-inflicted burns are rare in France, but they lead to major, often life-threatening complications. The authors reviewed medical data for patients hospitalized in a burn center from January 2004 to December 2008. Thirty-eight cases of self-inflicted burns were compared with 220 accidental burns. Women were predominantly affected (57.9%, n = 22). A psychiatric history (71%, n = 27) was more frequent in this population. The mean age of the victims was 38 years. The leading method of suicide was flame (94%, n = 36) associated with gasoline used as an accelerant (77.7%, n = 28). Mean total burn surface area (41.5%) and mortality (36.9%) were higher in the self-inflicted burn population. By recognizing epidemiological characteristics and patients at risk, we can better classify lesions related to self-immolation. It is important for the forensic physician to consult survival details to correlate these data with the results of autopsy.© 2011 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

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