Elsevier

Burns

Volume 38, Issue 1, February 2012, Pages 136-140
Burns

Epidemiology of severe burn among children in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2011.06.010Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to identify the epidemiologic characteristics of childhood burns in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Methods

A population-based study was carried out on children aged 0–16 years who were hospitalized due to burns in Newfoundland and Labrador between April 1995 and March 2001. Hospital and mortality data were obtained from the provincial hospital admission database and Mortality System, respectively. The Newfoundland and Labrador population was considered as a whole and as two separate geographic areas.

Results

A total of 157 hospital admissions due to burns were identified during the study period. The rate of burns requiring hospitalization in the province was 22.3 per 100,000 person-years (P-Y). The rates for males and females was 27.7 and 16.6 per 100,000 P-Y, respectively (P = 0.006). Infants (0–1 year) had the highest rate of burn (88.8 per 100,000 P-Y) followed by children aged 2–4 years (26.0 per 100,000 P-Y) (P < 0.0001). Labrador, a region with high Aboriginal population (51.4 per 100,000 P-Y), had a higher rate of burn compared to Newfoundland (20.3 per 100,000 P-Y) (P < 0.0001). Median age of patients with burns was 2 years for the island portion of the province and 9 years in Labrador (P < 0.01). Overall, scald burn (52.2%) was the most frequent type of burn followed by flame (32.5%). In the island portion of the province, scald burn was the most common type of burn (56.4%), while in Labrador flame was the most frequent type (66.7%). Overall mortality rate due to burns was 0.9 per 100,000 P-Y.

Conclusion

Age (infants) and sex (male) are factors associated with burn in Newfoundland and Labrador. Study results indicate a difference in the epidemiologic pattern of burn between the island portion of the province, Newfoundland, and mainland Labrador. It is recommended that preventive programs be directed towards high risk groups to reduce the incidence of burns.

Introduction

Burn among children is a global phenomenon both in economically developed and developing countries [1], [2], [3], [4]. Pediatric burns are responsible for a disproportionate share of injury death, disability, and health care resources utilization [1], [2], [4]. Many studies have estimated the epidemiology of pediatric burns but they have often yielded different results depending on the regions where the studies were conducted [1], [3], [5], [6], [7]. Burns are a particularly significant cause of morbidity among infants and toddlers. In fact, infants and toddlers have a higher burn rate than do older children, and the sequelae associated with these injuries often result in tragedy for both parents and children [1], [3], [6], [7]. This is caused by the pain and the trauma of dressings, procedures, hospitalization and emotional distress in a child, the mortality risk, the long-term rehabilitation and the cosmetic disfigurement.

The objective of this study was to investigate epidemiologic features of severe burns leading to hospitalization among children in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Further, considering a large proportion of population in Labrador is of Aboriginal ethnic background, a geographic comparison was conducted to identify possible differences between the two regions in the province.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador consists of two major geographical areas, the island of Newfoundland and a mainland section, Labrador (Fig. 1). The island is the easternmost extension of Canada, while Labrador is the most North Easterly coastal region of the Canadian mainland, and of continental North America. The province has a population of 509,000 (2010) and encompasses an area of 405,720 km2. Labrador comprises 72% of the land area of the province but contains only 5% of the

Age/sex-specific rates

During the study period, 157 hospital admissions were identified as resulting from burns for patients aged 0–16 years, representing an overall rate of 22.3 per 100,000 person-years (P-Y). The rate of burns among males and females were 27.7 and 16.6 per 100,000 P-Y, respectively (P = 0.006). The highest rate of childhood burns occurred within the 0–1 year group (88.8 per 100,000 P-Y) followed by children 2–4 years old (26.0 per 100,000 P-Y) (Table 2).

Geographical regions

Table 3 presents age-specific rates of burns

Discussion

The rate of hospital admission due to burns in this study (22.3 per 100,000) was higher than the Canadian national rate (12.6 per 10,000) [1]. In this study, a majority of the burn-injured children were under four years old. This age group is also seen as the most common age group for burns in other studies [1], [3], [5], [6], [7]. Children under the age of three–four often stay near their parents while they are cooking and therefore they are more exposed to burn risks. Many of those injuries

Conflict of interest

Declare no conflict of interest.

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