Retrospective Epidemiological Study of Burn Injuries in 1717 Pediatric Patients: 10 Years Analysis of Hospital Data in Iran

BACKGROUND: Burn injuries are considered an important preventable cause of injuries in children, and it still produces significant death in Iran. This study investigated the causes and severity of burns in patients. METHODS: This study was retrospective descriptive study of children-burn injury in a referral Burn Care Center in Tehran, Iran during a ten-year period since 2005 to 2014. Data collection have been facilitated by using a specially designed checklist. The subjects included 1717 consecutive patients with various causes of burn injury. Data were analyzed applying descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Chi-square. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: The patients’ mean age was 4.11 ± 3.42 yr. The mean hospitalization period was 11.15 ± 8.37 d. The grade of burn was 2 in 1292 (75.2%) patients. Among the children-burn patients, 59.9% suffered from <20% of total body surface area burn. Most affected part of the body was trunk 762 (44.4%). Overall, 1256 patients (73.2%) suffered from hot liquid burns. Burns mortality rate for this study was identified 8.1% (N=3). CONCLUSION: The majority of the patients were male with a male to female ratio of 1.7:1. Most patients were in the 2–4 yr age group, with most of the injuries occurring in boys under the age of 5 yr old. It is the child’s natural curiosity and inability to understand that special things are dangerous to them, which leads to burning injury. Most affected part of the body was trunk and 1256 patients (73.2%) suffered from hot liquid burns.