Methylated spirit burns: an ongoing problem

Economic Burden of Denatured Alcohol-Induced Burns: A 20-Year Retrospective Study

Burn care has rapidly improved over the past decades, but health innovations are expensive. We present the first study focusing on the economic burden of exclusive denatured alcohol-induced burns. The goal of this study was to determine costs for the public health system due to inpatients’ burn care because of these specific burns. Moreover, we aimed to observe the incidence of methylated spirit-related burns in the past 20 years. We performed an observational retrospective study in our burn unit including all patients with a denatured alcohol-related burn injury from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2020. A total of 503 patients with a mean burn size of 24% were hospitalized; the mean annual total costs per patient was €43,879, varying from €31,518 to €63,274.00€; the total costs for denatured alcohol-related burns during the period 2001–2020 was €21,145,076. We noted an increasing incidence of denatured alcohol-related burns and related costs over the years, especially in the last decade. Our results highlight that burns by methylated spirits are still a real and expanding problem. Therefore, authorities should focus on sales rules, characteristics of the containers, and education of people who misuse denatured alcohol, based on historical habits of use. To reduce the socioeconomic costs of burns, future intervention strategies and studies from the dermatology community and burn specialists should focus on prevention programs and prompt wound healing to shorten the length of hospital stay, enable quick return to work, and improve the outcomes of patients with burns.

Methylated spirit burns following traditional hair dressing practice

Methylated spirit burns have been reported following domestic uses such as igniting fondues. It has also been used as an accelerant for self-immolation. We report the first documented case of severe methylated spirit burns sustained during traditional hair dressing. Increased awareness on the dangers of methylated spirit as well as making it less readily available for domestic use is warranted.