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A profile of hospital-admitted paediatric burns patients in South Africa
Asha Parbhoo1, Quinette A Louw, Karen Grimmer-Somers
1Division of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, PO Box 19063, Tygerberg, 7505, South Africa. qalouw@sun.ac.za.
Insights
In South Africa, hot liquids cause most childhood burns, particularly in toddlers from informal settlements. Improving home safety is key to preventing these injuries.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric burn injuries
- Public health
- Injury prevention
Background:
- Burns are a significant and preventable global health issue.
- This study focuses on pediatric burn admissions at Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the characteristics of burn injuries in children admitted to a South African hospital.
- To identify risk factors and common causes of pediatric burns.
Main Methods:
- A six-month retrospective review of consecutively admitted pediatric burn patients (April-September 2007).
- Data collection via a project-specific data capture sheet.
- Descriptive statistics and Spearman's correlation were used for analysis.
Main Results:
- 294 children were admitted, with 60.9% being male.
- Hot liquids were the cause of 83.0% of burns, with 36.0% affecting children aged two years or younger.
- Burn mechanisms varied by age group.
Conclusions:
- Most hospitalized burn victims in South Africa originate from informal settlements with low home safety prioritization.
- Black infants and toddlers are most vulnerable to severe burns in disorganized home environments.
- Preventing burn injuries requires enhancing home safety and socio-economic conditions through interdepartmental collaboration.
Background:
Injuries and deaths from burns are a serious, yet preventable health problem globally. This paper describes burns in a cohort of children admitted to the Red Cross Children's Hospital, in Cape Town, South Africa.This six month retrospective case note review looked at a sample of consecutively admitted patients from the 1 st April 2007 to the 30 th September 2007. Information was collected using a project-specific data capture sheet. Descriptive statistics (percentages, medians, means and standard deviations) were calculated, and data was compared between age groups. Spearman's correlation co-efficient was employed to look at the association between the total body surface area and the length of stay in hospital.
Findings:
During the study period, 294 children were admitted (f= 115 (39.1%), m= 179 (60.9%)). Hot liquids caused 83.0% of the burns and 36.0% of these occurred in children aged two years or younger. Children over the age of five were equally susceptible to hot liquid burns, but the mechanism differed from that which caused burns in the younger child.
Conclusion:
In South Africa, most hospitalised burnt children came from informal settlements where home safety is a low priority. Black babies and toddlers are most at risk for sustaining severe burns when their environment is disorganized with respect to safety. Burns injuries can be prevented by improving the home environment and socio-economic living conditions through the health, social welfare, education and housing departments.
