title: Scalding in Turkish children: comparison of burns caused by hot water and hot milk.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our aim in this study was to compare the clinical differences and etiologic risk factors for hot water and hot milk scald burns in Turkish children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The retrospective study examined the cases of 140 children aged 0.1-7 years who had scald burns treated in three burn units of a Turkish hospital network between March 2000 and December 2004. The patients were categorized in two groups: hot water burns or hot milk burns.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-five (67.9%) patients had hot water burns and 45 (47.1%) had hot milk burns. The proportion of patients with hot milk burns who lived in rural areas was significantly higher than the corresponding proportion for the hot water cases (75.6% versus 52.6%, respectively; p<0.01). In 20 (44%) of the hot milk cases, the burn was caused by milk being boiled in large pots outdoors for cheese production. The other 25 hot milk cases were caused by milk being boiled in the kitchen. The mean (+/-S.D.) percentage total body surface area burned in the hot milk cases was higher than that in the hot water cases (33.6+/-2.24% versus 21.42+/-1.43%, respectively; p<0.001), and the corresponding mean percentages of TBSA with full-thickness burns were 9.2+/-2.52% versus 3.13+/-0.83%, respectively; (p=0.083). The mean percentages of TBSA with second-degree burns showed the same trend (29.0+/-12.39% versus 18.8+/-1.47%, respectively; p<0.001) higher percentage of the children with hot milk burns required antibiotics (78% versus 52.8%, respectively; p<0.006). Seven (7.4%) of the hot water burn patients and 15 (33.3%) of the hot milk burn patients died during the study period (p=0.025; overall mortality rate 15.7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children scalded with hot milk tend to have more extensive burns, and thus have higher mortality, than those scalded with hot water. To create effective programs for preventing scald injuries in Turkey and elsewhere, it is essential to consider ethnic and cultural issues based on these characteristics. Simple precautions should be explained and methods of using liquids such as hot milk should be researched in different geographic locations in order to formulate good prevention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Baskent University Adana Teaching and Medical Research Center, Department of General Surgery, Burn Unit, Dadaloglu Mah. 39, Sok. No.: 6, 01250 Yuregir, Adana, Turkey. eatarim@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Akin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tarim
authors.forename: Tarik Zafer
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: Nursal
authors.forename: Ozgür
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Basaran
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.forename: Emin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Türk
authors.forename: Gökhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moray
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haberal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008892:Milk; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water