Etiology of childhood burns and parental awareness in Turkey

Abstract

Objective: Burns continue to be a devastating trauma worldwide. Most of the childhood burns are due to preventable injuries. Burns occurring as a result of negligence of the parents'/carers' may cause mortality or life-long morbidities. Identification of the etiologies will direct the precautions that should be undertaken. Material and Methods:One hundred consequent burn patients admitted to our clinics were included to the study. A questionnaire was filled in with the information gathered from the parents/carers. Results:The mean age of the patients was 3.74±3.07 years, and 52% was male. Most of the injuries occurred in the noon (median 12:45). Seventy-eight percent of the burns occurred at children's own home. Parents/carers were close enough to prevent the child from injury in 66% of the cases. While there was no first intervention in 21% of burns, 14% applied ice and 1% yoghurt. Taxi was the means to reaching the hospital in 45%. Hot liquids were the leading etiology (p<0.003). Sixty-two percent of the patients were dining at the living room and on the floor. Conclusion:The occurrence of the majority of injuries near parents/carers can be related to inadvertence or lack of awareness. To decrease burns incidence among children in our country, dining at the floor and stove heating should be avoided as much as possible. Not cooling the burn with running tap water at the time of injury leads to deepening of the burn, which consequently makes management more complex. Based on our study, there is an apparent need for determination of preventive measurements and to raise public awareness. Keywords: Burn, child, awareness, etiology INTRODUCTIONBurn is a trauma with high mortality rates and serious morbidity in children as much as in adults. In burn injuries, as in other diseases, age has a significant effect on both the etiology and treatment.The first and most important issue in burn injuries is to prevent the burn. Protecting children from burns can be considered as the most important duty of parents and carers when the children are at an age when they have not completed their mental and physical development. Incidents of burns in children are associated with (a) the child's not having completed her/his development, (b) lack of care and concentration of the parents, and (c) curiosity of the child to burn agents. In Turkey, burns are often related to accidents during the traditional tea brewing technique and to production of dairy products in rural areas (1, 2).In addition, 10% of child abuse is associated with burns (3-5). Therefore, it is necessary to approach burns in children carefully. For example, diapers protect the buttocks, hips and upper thighs of infants, so burns in those areas are rarely seen (6). When children present with burns in those areas, abuse in the form of placing the child in hot water as punishment must be kept in mind. In addition, the epidemiology and etiology of pediatric burns may vary according to regional, cultural and economic conditions. For example, in eastern Turkey, burns from ta...

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