Burnt out: A retrospective review of paediatric burns admissions at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital 2015–2020

• Published in: Burns open : an international open access journal for burn injuries Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 160 - 163
• Main Authors: Mahlaule, R., Meghraj, N., Tshuta, L., Seedat, A., Mothoane, K., Kotze, I., Miller, G., Zama, T., Scribante, J., Patel, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Burns; Burns prevention; Paediatric Burns; Burns; Paediatric Burns; Burns prevention
• ISSN: 2468-9122; 2468-9122
• DOI: 10.1016/j.burnso.2024.03.007

•Children <1, boys, major injury and hot water burn accounted for most injuries.•Such data are critical for injury prevention and management strategies.•Data have been used to create and implement a burns prevention programme. Burn injuries in children in low- and middle-income countries are common, serious, and preventable. Despite the high burden of disease, there is a paucity of data on the profile of paediatric burns in South Africa. Such data are essential to local burn prevention strategies. A retrospective review of all recorded paediatric burns admissions to the paediatric burns unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital was performed from 1 January 2015 – 31 December 2020. Ethical approval was obtained. Data extracted anonymously included patient age, sex, mechanism of injury, injury severity, date of injury and residential location. A total of 2980 admissions occurred during the study period. Infants ≤ 1 year accounted for 42.2 % (1259/2980), males 61.4 % (1689/2751), hot water burns 79.1 % (2357/2980), and major injury 40.1 % (1201/2980) of admissions. Most burn injuries occurred in winter (28.2 %, 842/2980), and most admitted patients lived in Soweto 45.5 % (1355/2980). Most burns admissions in the study period were characterised by male children less than one year of age, hot water burns, major burn injuries and admissions in the winter months. These results are similar to national and international data regarding age, sex, mechanism of injury and seasonality of paediatric burns. The results from the study have been utilised to inform Surgeons For Little Lives’ paediatric burns prevention campaigns in Soweto and Gauteng Province.