title: Epidemiology and profile of pediatric burns in a large referral center.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Burns are a preventable cause of pediatric injury with over 100 000 annual hospitalizations. The authors hypothesize that analysis of injury patterns can generate age-specific and injury-specific prevention strategies to reduce these injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the burn registry were collected over a 9-year period. Cross-tabulations were employed to examine associations. An analysis of variance model was used to examine differences in injury pattern.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Burns in children less than 1 year accounted for 16% of all admissions. The most common mechanism of injury was scalds (48.4%). Electrical and chemical burns occurred more often in older children. Suspected abuse (N = 142) accounted for 6.7% of all admissions. House fire injuries (N = 94) had a higher mean total burn surface area (18.2%). Smoke detectors were present in two thirds of the cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These predictors can form the basis for targeted public health initiatives with a potential reduction in the number of burn injuries.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Srinivasan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suresh
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002056:Burns / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D002057:Burns, Chemical / Q000453:epidemiology; D002058:Burns, Electric / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult