Paediatric burns patients: Reasons for admission at a tertiary centre

The aim of this study was to determine the reasons why children with burns are admitted upon primary presentation to a tertiary burns centre. The study was a retrospective chart review of all children admitted to the Stuart Pegg Paediatric Burns Centre with a burns injury over an 18 month period.

A total of 159 children with an overall median age of 25 months were included in the study. The reason for admission was able to be determined in all but two of these patients, and categorised into either severity, region of body burnt, social reasons, timing of presentation, geographical reasons, age and other. The majority of children (45%) were admitted for severity, followed by region of body burnt (24%) and social reasons (11%). One third of children were admitted because of reasons other than the biology of the burn itself (severity or body region).

The findings of this study demonstrate that it is not just children with severe burns who are admitted. One third of children are admitted because of the impact of the burn injury on the family, not because of a need for immediate management of the burns injury itself. The full impact of paediatric burns on our healthcare system is not solely determined by the physical characteristics of the burn itself.