Burn injuries among children aged up to sixteen years; a 6-year retrospective study.

Background and Aim : To describe the epidemiology of pediatric burns in the north of Iran, identify the trends of burn occurrence, the vulnerable population, and etiology, we investigated characteristics of burns in children aged up to sixteen years. Methods : This retrospective analytic study has been done on the medical records of hospitalized patients with burns in Velayat Sub-Specialty Burn and Plastic Surgery Center, Rasht, Iran during 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2019. In general, 892 medical records have been reviewed. All data were entered in SPSS (version23) and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Results : 892 children in the age group of 0–16 were hospitalized. There were 505 boys and 387 girls(44.2%). The highest risk of burns was observed from 8 to 12 months of age (27%) and the mean total body surface area burned was 11.1±11.61% .Scalding composed 78.4% of all burns. Electric burns had the lowest rate of burns among children (1.0%). Most burns occurred in March and April (1%), with 23% of children being injured on Thursday and Friday, while being with their mother (48.9%) or grandma (31.7%) in all age. The results showed that most of the children had low educated mothers (p<0.05). The anterior trunk (29.1) and legs(34.2) were the most frequently affected body part (51.5%). Conclusion : Scalds was the most commonly reported injury in children aged less than 16. The major part of scalding with hot drinks was due to scalding with parents’ drinks. The children included in this study were supposed to be under the care of their parents. Parental neglect and poor mother school education level might have played a role in burn injuries in these children. In developing countries like Iran, parents should be offered education about prevention of burn injuries in childhood.

Keywords:

Burns epidemiology , Paediatrics , Burn injury