title: Childhood burns in Sulaimaniyah province, Iraqi Kurdistan: a prospective study of admissions and outpatients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While it is globally observed that young children are at a higher risk of burn injuries, little is known about childhood burns in Iraqi Kurdistan. This study was undertaken to describe the epidemiology of burns amongst pre-school children in this region.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study was undertaken from November 2007 to November 2008 involving all children aged 0-5 years attending the burns centre in Sulaimaniyah province for a new burn injury whether treated as an outpatient or admitted to hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1,122 children attended the burns centre of whom 944 (84%) were interviewed (male 53%, female 47%). Mean age was 1.9 years with children aged 1 year comprising 32% and those aged 2 years comprising 21% of the sample. The incidence of burns was 1044/100,000 person-years (1030 in females and 1057 in males). Mechanisms of injury included scalds (80%), contact burns (12%) flames (6%) and other mechanisms (2%). Almost 97% of burns occurred at home including 43% in the kitchen. Winter was the commonest season (36%) followed by autumn (24%). There were 3 peak times of injury during the day corresponding to meal times. The majority of burns were caused by hot water (44%) and tea (20%) and the most common equipment/products responsible were tea utensils (41%). There were 237 admissions with an admission rate of 95 per 100,000 person-years. Scald injuries accounted for most admissions (84%). Median total body surface area affected by the burn or scald (TBSA) was 11% and median hospital stay was 7 days. In-hospital mortality was 8%. Mortality rate was 4% when TBSA was ≤25%, and 100% when TBSA was over 50%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Burn incidence is high in young children especially those aged 1-2 years. Preventive interventions targeted at families with young children & focusing on home safety measures could be effective in reducing childhood burns.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Unit, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq. Electronic address: nasihothman@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Nasih
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Othman
authors.affiliation: Division of Primary Care, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. Electronic address: Denise.Kendrick@nottingham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kendrick
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Medicine, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. Electronic address: ahmad.alwindi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Windi
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D002053:Burn Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007493:Iraq / Q000453:epidemiology; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution
keywords: Burns; Children; Epidemiology; Iraqi Kurdistan; Scalds