Comparison of accidental pediatric scald burns in a tertiary care center: hot cauldron burns versus accidental spill burns

Background: Scald burns result from exposure to high-temperature fluids and are more common in the pediatric age group. They occur mainly by two mechanisms: (i) spill and (ii) immersion (hot cauldron) burns. These two patterns differ in clinical characteristics and outcomes. Scalds cause significant morbidity and mortality in children. The objective of this study was to compare accidental spill burns and hot cauldron burns in a hospital setting. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted by reviewing the secondary data of scald cases admitted during the years 2019 and 2020 in a burn-dedicated tertiary care center. Total population sampling was adopted. Data analysis was done partly using SPSS, version-23, and Stata-15. Mann Whitney U-test and Chi-square/Fisher's exact test were done appropriately to find associations between different variables. Binary regression analysis was performed taking mortality events as the outcome of interest. Results: Out of 108 scald cases, 43 (39.8%) had hot cauldron burns and 65 (60.2%) had accidental spill burns. Overall mortality was 16 (14.8%), out of which hot cauldron burns and accidental spill burns comprised 12 (75.0%) and 4 (25.0%), respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis showed the type of scald, age, and Baux score found to be associated with mortality. Every one-year increment in age had a 29% lower odds of occurrence of mortality event (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.50-0.99, p=0.042). Likewise, every one-point increment in Baux score was associated with 19% higher odds of mortality (adjusted OR, 1.190; 95% CI, 1.08-1.32; p<0.001). Conclusions: Accidental spill burn was more common but mortality was significantly higher for hot cauldron burns. The risk of mortality was significantly higher in burn events occurring outside the house, and burns involving back, buttocks, perineum, and lower extremities.