Profile and outcome of burn injuries amongst preschool children in a developing country

The aim of this study was to investigate characteristics, outcomes and risk factors for death from burn in preschool children. A retrospective study was conducted on 3688 preschool burn children admitted to the National Burn Hospital from 1/1/2016 to 31/12/2018. Collected data included patient demographics and burn characteristics. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was conducted to determine independent risk factors for death. Results showed that preschool children accounted for 78.8% of total admitted burn children. The main causal agent was scald. Boys were predominant, and 76.5% patients lived in rural areas. The highest number of burn accidents occurred in winter. In addition, average burn surface area was of 8.8% total body surface area (TBSA) and 43.5% of patients suffered deep burn injury. Overall mortality rate was 0.5% with LA50 of 81.7% and 49.1% for full thickness burn area. A significantly higher mortality rate was seen in patients with inhalation injury. Compared to survivors, patients who died had a significantly larger burn surface area and larger deep burn area. Multivariate logistic analysis for death indicated that presence of inhalation injury and increased burn extent were independent risk factors for death. Inhalation injury resulted in a 3.4 probability unit of death. In conclusion, preschool burn injuries were more common in boys living in the countryside and were mostly caused by scald, with a high proportion of deep injuries. Except for in cases of extensive burn, inhalation injury was not common but was still the main cause of death.