Epidemiology of pediatric burn injuries in Istanbul, Turkey

BACKGROUND Many burns that occur in the first two decades of life are accidental and preventable. The aim of this study was to determine the demographic features, mortality, and other factors associated with pediatric burns in Istanbul, Turkey. METHODS Our retrospective study included 375 hospitalized pediatric patients (225 male, 150 female; mean age 4.07 +/- 3.79; range 0.2 to 16 years) aged 16 years or less admitted between January 2005 and January 2009. Each child's medical record was reviewed and demographic features, mechanism of burn, place of residence, total body surface area (TBSA), surgical treatment, duration of hospital stay and mortality rates were analyzed. RESULTS Scalding was the predominant cause among all pediatric age groups. There were no differences between the age groups with respect to mean TBSA. Length of hospital stay in infants and toddler age group was significantly lower than in other age groups (p<0.005). Sixteen (4.3%) patients died during the study period. Mortality rates associated with scalding, flame and electrical burns were 3.1%, 13.9% and 10%, respectively. Electrical burns and flame resulted in significantly higher mortality rates than scalding (p<0.05). CONCLUSION Scalding was found to be the most important cause of burns and flame-related mechanisms resulted in the highest mortality rate among children. Only a specific preventive program for changing the traditional habits of Turkish parents would reduce burn injuries among children.