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Risk factors for cooking-related burn injuries in children, WHO Global Burn Registry
Joseph S Puthumana1, Ledibabari M Ngaage1, Mimi R Borrelli2
1Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 22 S Greene St, Baltimore, MD 21230, United States of America (USA).
Insights
Cooking-related burn injuries disproportionately affect young children. Explosions, fires, and hazardous fuels significantly increase burn severity and mortality, necessitating targeted prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Burn Injury Research
- Global Public Health
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- Cooking activities are a significant cause of burn injuries in children globally.
- Understanding the specific characteristics and risk factors is crucial for effective prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the demographic and clinical features of pediatric burn injuries related to cooking.
- To identify risk factors associated with increased burn severity and mortality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the World Health Organization Global Burn Registry, including 2957 pediatric burn patients.
- Performed multivariate regression analyses to determine predictors of mortality and total body surface area affected.
Main Results:
- Cooking-related burns accounted for 32.9% of pediatric injuries, predominantly affecting boys and children aged 2 years and under.
- Explosions, fires in cooking areas, and specific fuels (wood, kerosene, natural gas) were linked to larger burn surface areas.
- Mortality was significantly associated with explosions, fires, and fuels like charcoal, kerosene, natural gas, and wood.
Conclusions:
- Cooking-related burn injuries represent a substantial global health burden for children.
- Preventive measures targeting cooking environment hazards like explosions, fires, and specific fuels are essential to reduce pediatric burn morbidity and mortality.
Objective:
To assess the characteristics of cooking-related burn injuries in children reported to the World Health Organization Global Burn Registry.
Methods:
On 1 February 2021, we downloaded data from the Global Burn Registry on demographic and clinical characteristics of patients younger than 19 years. We performed multivariate regressions to identify risk factors predictive of mortality and total body surface area affected by burns.
Findings:
Of the 2957 paediatric patients with burn injuries, 974 involved cooking (32.9%). More burns occurred in boys (532 patients; 54.6%) than in girls, and in children 2 years and younger (489 patients; 50.2%). Accidental contact and liquefied petroleum caused most burn injuries (729 patients; 74.8% and 293 patients; 30.1%, respectively). Burn contact by explosions (odds ratio, OR: 2.8; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.4-5.7) or fires in the cooking area (OR: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.3-6.8), as well as the cooking fuels wood (OR: 2.2; 95 CI%: 1.3-3.4), kerosene (OR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.0-3.6) or natural gas (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-2.2) were associated with larger body surface area affected. Mortality was associated with explosions (OR: 7.5; 95% CI: 2.2-25.9) and fires in the cooking area (OR: 6.9; 95% CI: 1.9-25.7), charcoal (OR: 4.6; 95% CI: 2.0-10.5), kerosene (OR: 3.9; 95% CI: 1.4-10.8), natural gas (OR: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.5-6.1) or wood (OR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.1-7.1).
Conclusion:
Preventive interventions directed against explosions, fires in cooking areas and hazardous cooking fuels should be implemented to reduce morbidity and mortality from cooking-related burn injuries.