Scalds in children caused by water from electrical kettles: effect of prevention through information.
Electrical kettles (el-kettles) were virtually unknown in Danish households in the mid-1980s, but have since become more common. In 1996, (65 per cent of all Danish households had an el-kettle. As the number of el-kettles have increased, so have the number of scalds caused by water from toppled el-kettles. The first patient with an el-kettle scald was admitted to the Burns Centre at Hvidovre hospital in 1988. From 1988 to 1993 29 patients were admitted with this type of scald; 15 patients in 1993 alone. All the patients were toddlers 5-30 months of age. When el-kettle scalds were compared to scalds caused by other mechanisms in children under 5 years of age, it was found that the former occurred to younger children than the latter (60 per cent of el-kettle scalded children were less than 1 year of age compared to 28 per cent scalded by other means), the scalds were more extensive (median of TBSA were 13 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively), and the scalds were deeper (53 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, needed skin-grafting). In 1993 campaigns were started to inform parents that the cord of the el-kettle should be short and not hang over the edge of the table. In the following years a considerable decrease in the number of el-kettle scalds was found. When the number of expected el-kettle scalds was estimated from the number of Danish households having an el-kettle, it was found that more than half the expected number of el-kettle scalds were avoided.
Sheller
J L
JL
Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns Treatment, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thuesen
B
B
D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000145:classification / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017677:Age Distribution; D002053:Burn Units; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003296:Cooking; D003625:Data Collection; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution