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Incidence of medically attended paediatric burns across the UK
Katie Davies1, Emma Louise Johnson1, Linda Hollén1,2,3
1Division of Population Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK.
Insights
Childhood burns in the UK result in nearly 20,000 primary care attendances and over 6,600 hospital admissions annually. These findings highlight an urgent need for improved childhood burn prevention strategies across the UK.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Pediatric Medicine
Background:
- Childhood burns pose a significant public health challenge, impacting healthcare services.
- Quantifying the full extent of childhood burns in the UK is complex.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the annual incidence of medically attended childhood burns in the UK.
- To analyze data from primary care, emergency attendances, hospital admissions, and deaths.
Main Methods:
- Utilized routinely collected data from 2013-2015 across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
- Included data from Clinical Practice Research Datalink, PERUKI, NHS Wales, Hospital Episode Statistics, National Services Scotland, and mortality agencies.
- Population denominators were derived from Office for National Statistics mid-year estimates.
Main Results:
- Annual primary care burns attendance was 16.1/10,000 children.
- Emergency attendances were 35.1/10,000 in England and 28.9/10,000 in Wales.
- Annual hospital admissions were estimated at 6,639, with 75% of cases in England, Wales, and Scotland involving children under 5 years.
Conclusions:
- An estimated 19,574 primary care attendances, 37,703 emergency attendances, and 6,639 hospital admissions occur annually for childhood burns in the UK.
- Low mortality rates (0.1/1,000,000) were observed.
- There is a critical need for enhanced childhood burn prevention initiatives in the UK.
Objective:
Childhood burns represent a burden on health services, yet the full extent of the problem is difficult to quantify. We estimated the annual UK incidence from primary care (PC), emergency attendances (EA), hospital admissions (HA) and deaths.
Methods:
The population was children (0-15 years), across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (NI), with medically attended burns 2013-2015. Routinely collected data sources included PC attendances from Clinical Practice Research Datalink 2013-2015), EAs from Paediatric Emergency Research in the United Kingdom and Ireland (PERUKI, 2014) and National Health Services Wales Informatics Services, HAs from Hospital Episode Statistics, National Services Scotland and Social Services and Public Safety (2014), and mortality from the Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland and NI Statistics and Research Agency 2013-2015. The population denominators were based on Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates.
Results:
The annual PC burns attendance was 16.1/10 000 persons at risk (95% CI 15.6 to 16.6); EAs were 35.1/10 000 persons at risk (95% CI 34.7 to 35.5) in England and 28.9 (95% CI 27.5 to 30.3) in Wales. HAs ranged from 6.0/10 000 person at risk (95% CI 5.9 to 6.2) in England to 3.1 in Wales and Scotland (95% CI 2.7 to 3.8 and 2.7 to 3.5, respectively) and 2.8 (95% CI 2.4 to 3.4) in NI. In England, Wales and Scotland, 75% of HAs were aged <5 years. Mortality was low with 0.1/1 000 000 persons at risk (95% CI 0.06 to 0.2).
Conclusions:
With an estimated 19 574 PC attendances, 37 703 EAs (England and Wales only), 6639 HAs and 1-6 childhood deaths annually, there is an urgent need to improve UK childhood burns prevention.
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