Publication:

Histo-pathological changes in kidneys in autopsies of flame burns at a tertiary care center in North Western India: an autopsy based study at SMS medical college Jaipur (2015-2016)

Background Burn injury is associated with an intricate patho-physiological response with rapid involvement of various organ systems and which in turn impact the patient with multisystem disruption. These damages can be attributed to the alteration occurring at the tissue and cellular level leading to the histological changes in the renal tissue.

Methods The main aim of this study was to document the histo-pathological changes in kidneys of fatal cases of flame burns. This study was hospital based observational descriptive study carried out at mortuary of SMS medical college and attached hospitals, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India to study and document the histo-pathological changes in the fatal cases due to flame burns.

Results In this study, most common histo-pathological finding in kidneys was cloudy degeneration followed by congestion. Acute tubular necrosis of proximal convoluted necrosis was most commonly observed during 3 to 7 days of mortality (18 cases) followed by mortality during 0 to 48 hours. Acute tubular necrosis of distal convoluted tubules was most commonly observed during 3 to 7 days followed by mortality during 0 to 48 hours.

Conclusions This study revealed that cloudy degeneration and acute tubular necrosis were the hallmark changes in burn patients which were most prominent at 3-7 days after sustaining burn injuries. This reflects the role of immediate management provided to the patient during this period with timely and effective fluid restoration and it possibly will change the prognosis of patients.