Burns associated with fondues.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the causes of burns associated with fondues.


METHODS
Descriptive case series.


METHODS
All 17 patients admitted to a burn centre between Apr. 1, 1985, and Mar. 31, 1990, whose burns were associated with fondue. Eleven agreed to complete a telephone interview.


RESULTS
The age of the 17 patients varied from 2 to 56 (mean 27) years. Two causes were identified: spilling of the contents of the fondue pot and explosion of the fondue fuel when added to the burner during a meal. The telephone interview revealed that eight people other than the respondents were burned during the same accidents.


CONCLUSIONS
Although we identified only badly burned patients the problem may be more extensive. The knowledge of specific causes of burns from handling fondue equipment indicates that preventive action should be undertaken. More epidemiologic information is needed to obtain a precise estimate of the magnitude of this public health problem.
Laliberté
D
D
Département de santé communautaire, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Quebec.
Beaucage
C
C
Watts
N
N
D000328:Adult; D002053:Burn Units; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003297:Cooking and Eating Utensils; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011792:Quebec