According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 180, 000 deaths every year are caused by burn, and the vast majority occur in low- and middle-income countries [[1], [2], [3]]. The WHO described burns as ‘forgotten global public health crises’ [4]. Burn is the fourth most common type of trauma worldwide, following traffic accidents, falls, and interpersonal violence [2]. Moreover, it is a global public health problem that is the leading cause of morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, disfigurement, and disability, often resulting in stigma and rejection [3,5,6]. Burns are also the leading cause of disability and disfigurement; fire-related burns alone are estimated to cause 10 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) [1,4,7].

A review from sub-Saharan Africa showed scalds were the commonest cause of thermal injuries, accounting for 59 % of all burns [8]. Furthermore, in sub-Saharan African countries, burn is a significant cause of death, with an average mortality rate of 17 %, and disproportionately affects those aged less than 15 years [8,9]. In Ethiopia, burns account for 1.5 % to 9 % of injuries in all age groups and 4 % to 15 % of injuries in pediatrics with an estimated mortality rate of 11.6 % [3].

Ethiopia has undergone increasing urbanization and development, with a concomitant increase in hazardous workplace conditions and electrical grid misuse [4]. As a result, burn injuries are on the rise and are fast becoming major health problems [4]. Thus, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) takes the initiative with the stakeholders to expand the services and try to improve the survival outcome of burn injuries by emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach at all stages of management [4]. Despite remarkable efforts being made to improve the prevention, acute care, and rehabilitation of burn injuries, mortality and disability resulting from burn injuries remain high in Ethiopia.

According to different literature, the outcomes of burn injuries depend on the extent of injury, depth, age, sex, residency, time of arrival at health facility, condition at admission, getting appropriate fluid resuscitation, type of management given after admission, presence of comorbidity and co-existing injuries, and provision of pre-hospital care [8,[10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16]].

Several systematic reviews regarding burn injuries that include African countries have been employed, but they often identify the epidemiological pattern and results on the outcomes and its determinant factors are erratic [2,3,6,7]. Although burn continues to be a major public health problem in Ethiopia, resulting in thousands of preventable deaths and disabilities each year, there is a contradiction of results about the outcomes and factors associated with poor outcome among burn patients [12,14]. So far, no systematic review or meta-analysis has been conducted about the outcomes of burn injuries. Thus, this review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the pooled outcomes and factors associated with poor treatment outcome among burn patients in Ethiopia. The evidence generated from this systematic review and meta-analysis will be crucial for clinicians and policymakers to design, strengthen, and implement standards for burn care and treatment.