Epidemiological and clinical profile of pediatric burn in Iran ,Tehran , 2005-

2008
Karimi MD assistant professor , plastic surgeon. Mahtab Vasigh , MD Assistant
of general surgery . Amir Reza Motabar , MD General surgeon . Mansooreh
sabzeh parvar , MD
Tehran university of medical science,motahhari hospital
Introduction: Burn-related injuries among children are global phenomena.
Children with severe burns often suffer from impaired mental and physical
development, prolonged pain and endure large medical expenses to the family
and medical system.Pediatric burns constitute a substantial proportion of
total burn admission. High mortality or crippling deformities, long term
rehabilitation, cosmetic disfiguration, pain and trauma of dressing,
procedures, hospitalization and emotional adjustments in an immature child
adds to the tragedy, initially for the parents and later on for children
Aims: The epidemiology of burns includes information about the risk factors
that predispose to the occurrence of this type of trauma. Few such data are
available for Iranian children. For this reason, a basic description of the
epidemiologic data for children with burns treated in our burn centers would
be of great benefit for the region.The objective of this study was to identify the
epidemiologic features of pediatric burn injuries in Tehran. These data will be
used as a basis for developing targeted preventive programs to protect
children from burns. . health system policy makers need to have enough
information about burn victims to prepare care facilities.
Methods: Retrospective descriptive study of all pediatric burn patients.
The out-patients were not included in the study. Relevant data were retrieved
from the burn treatment registry . 870 patients in a four year period ,from
2005 to 2008were studied . The patients were children at the age of 15 and
younger who were hospitalized at Motahhari burn center in Tehran . The
following were recorded: age, gender, and place of burn, site of injury ,
seasonal variation, cause, extent of burns, length of hospital stay, mode of
therapy , result , and mortality rate . SPSS 15 was used for data analysis.
Results: children were categorised into four groups, the infants (0-1year) ,
toddlers (1–2 years), early childhood (2–6 years) and late childhood (6–14 years).
In the first three groups scalding was the predominant cause of injury while in late
childhood there were more flame and electric burns. Males were mainly affected.
Most of the burns were in summer . Ninety percent of accidents occurred at home.
The overall mortality rate was 10%. the older the children the more the TBSA and
mortality rate . 8.7% had TBSA more than 40% and 40% of them were at the age
of 6-14 , however they included only 21% of all . Length of hospital stay
increased in accordance with burn area. The most mortality rate was 53.8% in
age group 13-14 while they included only1.5% of all. Fire related burn
injuries accounted for 57% of the deaths and 53% were due to scald.
Conclusion: the study results provide a valuable baseline on which to assess
future efforts directed toward the prevention of burns among children in Iran.
Burn centers in Tehran as the capital of Iran are limited , health system policy
makers need to have enough information about burn victims to prepare care
facilities. Infants were found to be at greatest risk for a burn injury,while older
children were at higher risk for severe burns. Prevention programs should target
these high risk groups . An intense campaign to make people aware of the risk
factors and their avoidance is required to reduce the number of burn accidents in
children.