Paediatric burn prevention: an epidemiological approach.
OBJECTIVE
To study the mechanism of burn in hospitalized paediatric burn patients in order to develop a focused burn prevention campaign.


METHODS
Acute paediatric burn patients were identified from the unit admission records. Detailed medical records were reviewed to identify the key demographic and management information including the country of residence, age, gender, extent of injury, specific treatment and hospital stay. Parents were then contacted to provide detailed information about the mechanism of the accident, first aid given, living density and parent's educational level.


RESULTS
Two hundred and eighty-four admissions were identified in a 5-year period. Two hundred and twenty-four of these patients came from a defined regional population served by the hospital. The median age of patients was 3 and male to female ratio 1:0.74. The most common age group for burns was 1-2 years. The most common type of burns were scalds. Domestic burns accounted for 84.7% of admissions. Median burn area was 4% of the total body surface area with a range of 0.2-45%. Fifty percent of patients had no first aid treatment prior to presentation at the hospital. More accidents happened in homes with a high living density and the majority of parents had both completed secondary education. The most dangerous location in the house was the living room, followed by the bathroom, kitchen then bedroom. The majority of burns were related to hot drinks, followed by hot food and then bathing.


CONCLUSIONS
Detailed investigation of burn incidents can reveal repeated mechanisms of injury, which direct the focus of preventive strategies.
Tse
Teresa
T
Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Poon
Cindy H Y
CH
Tse
Ka-Hei
KH
Tsui
Tsz-Kin
TK
Ayyappan
Thangavel
T
Burd
Andrew
A
D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001830:Body Surface Area; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005392:First Aid; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D017678:Sex Distribution