Self-Burning: a Common and Tragic Way of Suicide in Fars Province, Iran

Self-burning is the most devastating burn injury. it is a commonsocial and medical problem in iran. in a longitudinal prospectivestudy, from april 2003 to march 2006, all burn patients admittedto ghotb-eddin burn hospital were enrolled in this study. suicideattempts by burning accounted for 283 (21.9%) of all burnpatients admitted to the hospital. most (68.2%) of self-burningpatients were female. self-burn patients had significantly largeburned body surface area (64.8پ %). suicidal burns occurredpredominantly in the age group 15-24 years (44.6%). themortality rate for suicidal burns was (60.4%).fars is a province composed of many different tribes andcultural minorities whereby major decisions are made by forumsof clergymen. it is important to involve those clergymenin burn prevention programs to achieve a meaningful reductionin self-burning prevalence.iran j med sci 2008; 33(2): 110-113.