Analysis and outcome of infantile burn

Objective: the aim of this study is to determine the causes,incidence,sex distribution,nature of injury and outcome of infants with burn. methods: this retrospective study was conducted at the plastic surgery,burn unit of patel hospital during period of 7 years from january 2007 to december 2013. children ageing one year or less at the time of admission were included in the study. spss 21 version was used for statistical analysis. results: total 789 pediatric burn patients were admitted in patel hospital during january 2007 to december 2013,in which 106 were infants. 83 (78.3%) infants had scald burn and 21 (19.8%) had fire burn. male to female ratio was 1.5:1. the most common cause of scald burn was hot water (62.7%).the majority of infants 39.6% and 40.6% had < 10% and 10- 19% total body surface area burn respectively. most of them (70.8%) had second degree burn. the mortality rate was 8.5%.2 infants required reconstructive and cosmetic facial surgery (nose and ears) due to fire burn. out of 95 infants in follow up 7 (7.4%) developed contractures for which surgical intervention was done. conclusion: burn injury is an important public health concern and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. the main cause of burn injury in infants is hot water. safety measures must be taken while dealing with hot liquids and flame,especially in the presence of infants at home. infantile burn injuries can be decreased and prevented by educating parents through seminars,posters and print media. in this aspect electronic media can play an important role along with social welfare organizations and housing departments. © 2015,pakistan pediatric journal. all rights reserved.