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The changing pattern of pediatric burns

Sandun L Abeyasundara1, Vasant Rajan, Lawrence Lam

  • 1Children's Hospital Burns Research Institute, Burns Unit, and New South Wales Severe Burn Injury Service, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Journal of Burn Care & Research : Official Publication of the American Burn Association
|January 15, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Contact burns are now more common than flame burns in children treated at a burns unit. This study analyzed 3515 pediatric burn cases from 2003-2007, finding scalds most frequent, followed by contact burns.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric burn epidemiology
  • Burn injury patterns
  • Public health

Background:

  • Historically, scalds and flame burns were the most common pediatric burn injuries.
  • Recent clinical observations suggested an increase in contact burns among children.
  • Understanding current burn etiology is crucial for effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the contemporary frequency of different burn modalities in children presenting to a burns unit.
  • To compare the incidence of scald, contact, and flame burns in pediatric patients.
  • To identify shifts in the patterns of childhood burn injuries.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 3621 pediatric patients treated at a burns unit (January 2003 - December 2007).
  • Data extraction included age, gender, burn etiology, site, Total Surface Area Burned (TBSA), and need for surgery.
  • Analysis of 3515 eligible patients to determine burn modality frequencies.

Main Results:

  • Scalds constituted 55.9% of burns, followed by contact burns (30.5%) and flame burns (7.9%).
  • Contact burns were significantly more frequent than flame burns throughout the study period (z = 17.30, P < .001).
  • No seasonal variation was observed in contact burns, indicating diverse causes.

Conclusions:

  • The findings indicate a significant change in the historical pattern of pediatric burn injuries.
  • Contact burns have surpassed flame burns in frequency among children treated at this burns unit.
  • These results necessitate updated public health awareness and burns prevention campaigns focused on contact burn risks.

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