Ten years of burn injuries among Canadian children

Abstract

Problem: Burns and scalds are among the most devastating injuries a child can sustain, often resulting in long-term physical and psychological morbidity. Although the extent of the problem is well recognised, the need for ongoing epidemiological data on childhood burn injuries is needed to provide vital information for developing strategies aimed at reducing their frequency and severity. This study reports the temporal trends, incidence rates, demographic and external-cause data for all burn injury related deaths and hospital admissions among children Canadian aged 0-19 years for the years 1994-2003.

Methods: Statistics Canada mortality data and Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) data were used to describe burn injury related deaths and hospital admission trends in Canadian children aged 0-19 years for the years 1994-2003. Concurrent population estimates were derived from census data provided by Statistics Canada.

Results: During the ten year period, 494 children died and 9871 were admitted to a Canadian hospital because of a burn related injury. Males and children aged less than 5 years of age were at the highest risk of burn injury, with children aged 1-5 years at the highest risk of death. Scalds represented the major aetiological factor contributing to thermal injuries accounting for 50% of all hospital admissions. Temporal trends indicate a significant a significant decline in burn injuries across all age groups during the period 1994-2003.

Conclusion: There has been a clear reduction in the number of patients with burn injury requiring hospital admission. This trend indicates success in safety initiative to prevent burn injuries as well as in improvements in the treatments of burn and hospital admission procedures. Nonetheless, burn injury remains a serious threat to the well-being of the Canadian paediatric population.