Pattern of Burn Injuries in Preschool Children

Burn is one of the most common causes of injury in the world. Burnt patients have a longer period of hospitalization than other trauma patients. It also leads to long-term disfigurement, disability, psychological consequences and delayed growth and development in children. Improvement of our information about how and where the burn occurs is the first step in burn injury prevention in children
In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from pre-school children that those hospitalized in the Imam Reza hospital, Mashhad, Iran from September 2014 to September 2015. Hospital information system was used in this study with respect to Helsinki declaration about ethical issues. SPSS 11.5 software was used for data collection
In a calendar year, 182 (26%) out of 701 of acute burn patients were pre-school children that burn was more common in boys than girls (59.3% to 40.7%). More than 90% of burns were occurred in residential homes and kitchens with 112 cases (61.5%) was the most common place for burn injury in pre-school children. All burn injuries occurred because of thermal energy and none of them have occurred as a result of electrical or chemical origin. The percentage of burn incidents with hot liquid were (62.6%) of which hot water’s share was 54.9% as the most common liquid. 3.85% of burns led to death, of which, gas explosion was the most common cause.
The majority of burn incidences were at the residential homes and especially in the kitchens which signifies the importance of parental surveillance and educating children about safety issues. Educational booklets about simple safety issues and proper use of kitchenware, especially those that deal with boiling water could be helpful. With regard to the main reason of mortality (gas explosion) paternal role should not be ignored.