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Published on: June 11, 2020
Neuropsychological outcomes of pediatric burn patients who sustained hypoxic episodes
Marta Rosenberg1, Carrie Robertson, Kevin D Murphy
1Shriners Hospitals for Children, Shriners Burns Hospital, 815 Market Street, Galveston, TX 77550, USA. marosenb@utmb.edu
Insights
Hypoxic episodes after burns can cause long-term cognitive and emotional problems in children. Further research is needed to fully understand these burn-related injuries.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Burn Care
- Neuropsychology
- Child Health
Background:
- Neuropsychological outcomes in children with burn-related hypoxic episodes are not fully understood.
- Outcomes vary based on the nature and severity of hypoxic events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the extent of cognitive and affective difficulties in children with burn-related hypoxic injuries.
- To compare outcomes between children with hypoxic injuries and matched controls.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of patients admitted to an acute burn care facility over 20 years.
- Comparison of 39 children with hypoxic injuries to 21 matched controls (age, TBSA, time of injury).
Main Results:
- Approximately one-third of children surviving hypoxic episodes experienced long-term cognitive and emotional difficulties.
- No significant differences were found between children who recovered well and matched burned controls.
Conclusions:
- Burn-related hypoxic injuries can lead to persistent neuropsychological challenges in a subset of pediatric survivors.
- Current findings may underestimate the true prevalence of difficulties; prospective studies are recommended.
Abstract:
The neuropsychological outcomes of children who suffered hypoxic episodes following their burns are not completely understood and vary depending on the nature and severity of the episode. A retrospective review of youth that were admitted to this acute burn care facility over the past 20 years was conducted to identify the extent of cognitive and affective difficulties. Thirty-nine children who sustained hypoxic injuries related to their burns were compared with 21 controls that were matched for age, TBSA, and time of injury. Approximately a third of the children who survived from the hypoxia group continued to have long-term cognitive and emotional difficulties. For those who recovered reasonably well, no differences were found from the matched burned controls. These results probably underestimate the true extent of neuropsychological difficulties experienced by these youth given that detailed cognitive testing was not routinely performed. Prospective studies are needed to further characterize the full nature of difficulties and outcomes associated with burn related hypoxic injuries.
