Epidemiology of severe burn among children in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

The objective of this study was to identify the epidemiologic characteristics of childhood burns in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

A population-based study was carried out on children aged 0-16 years who were hospitalized due to burns in Newfoundland and Labrador between April 1995 and March 2001. Hospital and mortality data were obtained from the provincial hospital admission database and Mortality System, respectively. The Newfoundland and Labrador population was considered as a whole and as two separate geographic areas.

A total of 157 hospital admissions due to burns were identified during the study period. The rate of burns requiring hospitalization in the province was 22.3 per 100,000 person-years (P-Y). The rates for males and females was 27.7 and 16.6 per 100,000 P-Y, respectively (P=0.006). Infants (0-1 year) had the highest rate of burn (88.8 per 100,000 P-Y) followed by children aged 2-4 years (26.0 per 100,000 P-Y) (P<0.0001). Labrador, a region with high Aboriginal population (51.4 per 100,000 P-Y), had a higher rate of burn compared to Newfoundland (20.3 per 100,000 P-Y) (P<0.0001). Median age of patients with burns was 2 years for the island portion of the province and 9 years in Labrador (P<0.01). Overall, scald burn (52.2%) was the most frequent type of burn followed by flame (32.5%). In the island portion of the province, scald burn was the most common type of burn (56.4%), while in Labrador flame was the most frequent type (66.7%). Overall mortality rate due to burns was 0.9 per 100,000 P-Y.

Age (infants) and sex (male) are factors associated with burn in Newfoundland and Labrador. Study results indicate a difference in the epidemiologic pattern of burn between the island portion of the province, Newfoundland, and mainland Labrador. It is recommended that preventive programs be directed towards high risk groups to reduce the incidence of burns.