title: Thermal injuries in under-4-year-old children: the Lesotho experience.
abstract: The Queen Elizabeth II Hospital is the apex of the health care services in the Kingdom of Lesotho but has no designated burns unit. A review of patients managed during a 5-year period was done to document our experience so as to show what can be achieved even without a standard burns unit. We reviewed the clinical course of children who were admitted for care of acute thermal injuries during a 5-year period, May 1997 to April, 2002 inclusive. All were treated in the children surgical ward in accordance with a protocol of care emphasizing urgent care of shock, accurate fluid therapy, open wound care and early enteral feeding. Ninety-eight children (51 males and 47 females) aged 4 months to 43 months (mean 21.66 +/- 11.30 months) were admitted on account of acute thermal injuries during the study period. The injuries included scalding (46%) involving predominantly the upper part of the body and full thickness burns (87%). Skin grafting was needed in 82% of the patients. The common complications were infection, fluid imbalance, respiratory problems, and contracture deformities. The mean duration of hospital stay was 40 +/- 4.43 days and the case fatality rate was 9%. The case fatality rate in this series is considered high and could be improved if there were a well staffed specialized burns unit.
authors.affiliation: Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho, Nigeria. amoshonubi@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: A M O
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Shonubi
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Akiode
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Musa
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Salami
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Kingu
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mohaleroe
mesh_terms: D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors