The influence of age on the frequency, manner of origin and outcome of burns in children

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of early treatment on the outcome of burns in children. An additional goal of the work is to determine the number of burns with regard to the age and sex of the patient, the number of burns with regard to the percentage and degree of the burned surface, the type of etiological factor that caused the burn and ways of treating burns in children.

Methods: This study included patients hospitalized for burns between the ages of 0 and 18 years. We analyzed the connection between the age of the child and the frequency of burns, the type of burns that may result from contact with hot liquids, open flames and pyrotechnics, and the outcome of treatment which may or may not result in scarring. An assessment of the total burnt body surface was measured according to Berkow's rule.

Results: This study proved that the highest frequency of burns occurs in children under five years of age, and that the way in which burns are caused in 97.4% of cases is contact with hot liquid. In 71.8% of burns cases in children up to five years of age, these are medium-severe, second-degree burns. The outcome of the treatment of children up to five years of age was no scarring in 92.3% of cases.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the highest incidence of burns is in children younger than five years, that the most common cause of burns in children is hot fluid, that conservative treatment is the most common, and that the outcome is no scarring. In most cases, the burns are moderate, second-degree burns, whereby the total burnt area of the body is mostly 0-20%.