EVALUATION OF ETIOLOGY AND OUTCOMES OF PAEDIATRIC BURNS UNDER THE AGE OF ONE YEAR.

Abstract

Between March 2012 and March 2022, 138 paediatric burns patients under the age of one year were hospitalized and managed at Department of Burns and Plastic surgery at Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Civil Hospital, Rajkot, Gujarat, India. Out of these patients, 61.59% (n=85) were males and 38.40%(n=53) were females. Aetiology of burns was mostly ame burns, scald burns from water and milk and electrical burns. TBSA (total body surface area) percentage sustained from burn trauma ranged from 1% to 95 %. Flame burns and water scald burns contributed to higher percentage of burns as compared to milk scalds and electrical burns. Total mortality was 23.91% (n=33). Flame burns resulted in 16 mortalities and scald burns lead to 14 deaths. These results show that mortality in infant is higher than other paediatric age groups. Infants represent a specic vulnerable group because they are essentially non-walkers and entirely dependent on their parents. More often than not these burns are due to negligence on the part of parents. These burns can be prevented by awareness campaigns targeting education of parents and care givers.