title: Pediatric deep burns caused by hot incense ashes during 2014 Spring Festival in Fuyang city, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Chinese people in Fuyang city, a northwest city of Anhui Province, are accustomed to burning incense at home for blessing during the Spring Festival. Their children, especially toddlers, like playing around the burning incense and are at risk of burning by hot incense ashes. The purpose of this study was to describe the unique cause and clinical characteristics of pediatric deep burns caused by hot incense ashes during 2014 Spring Festival.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve consecutive children admitted to our Burn Center and Fuyang People's Hospital during 2014 Spring Festival, with burn injuries caused by hot incense ashes which were epidemiologically studied retrospectively. Data on age, gender, size, depth and site of burn, incidence by day, number of operation, hospital stay, and causes of burns were collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients came from Fuyang city. Of the 12 patients, the average age was 2.17 years, with a range of 1-6. The boy-to-girl ratio was 2: 1. The mean total burn surface area (TBSA) was 5.83%, and 91.67% of the children sustained full-thickness burn. Hands were the most common parts of the body to be injured. Dry necrosis developed in 14 fingers of 3 patients. January 31, 2014, the first day of the Chinese New Year, was the time of highest incidence. Six patients (50%) required surgical intervention while the number of operations including escharectomy, excision, skin grafting, or amputation of necrotic fingers, per patient was 2. A total of 14 fingers were amputated of the necrotic parts. All children survived and mean length of hospital stay of the patients was 20 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hot incense ashes cause serious injuries to children in Fuyang city during the Spring Festival. Preventive programs should be directed towards high risk groups to reduce the incidence of this burn.
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns, Fuyang People's Hospital, Fuyang, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Ren Qin
authors.initials: RQ
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Xu Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002053:Burn Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006693:Holidays; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D016038:Skin Transplantation