Citation

Laitakari E, Koljonen V, Pyörälä S, Rintala R. Burns 2014; 40(3): 489-494.

Affiliation

Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: elina.laitakari@fimnet.fi.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.burns.2013.08.007

PMID

24001919

Abstract

In general, voluminous data exists concerning burns in children, but the data focusing specially on children less than 1 year of age is sporadic. We therefore focused on examining the special features of burns in children less than 1 year of age. A retrospective study of all outpatient treated burn patients <1 year old at the Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki, Finland, from January 2005 to December 2009 was performed. During the 5-year period we identified 106 outpatient treated infants with burns, representing 15% of all pediatric burns during the study period. The majority was male and aged 9-12 months. Most of the burns occurred at home, and in most cases a caregiver was present in the injury room. Scalds were the most common type of injury followed by contact burns. The most common source of scald was from cups containing hot drink, and the most common source of contact burn was hot stoves or oven doors. Special attention needs to be targeted toward the prevention of burns in children less than 1 year of age. The majority of the injuries could have been prevented with more vigilance.

Language: en