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Outpatient Management of Pediatric Burns
Matthew Brown, Tammy Coffee, Paul Adenuga, And Charles Yowler
University Hospitals Case Western Reserve
2013-02-25
Presenter: Matthew Brown
Affidavit:
"A substantial portion of the presented work was completed by the resident."
Director Name: Hooman Soltanian
Author Category: Resident Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Clinical
Abstract Category: General Reconstruction
Introduction: Pediatric burns account for a large percentage of referrals to burn centers. Most of the literature surrounding pediatric burns has focused on inpatient management. We present a 3 year retrospective review of pediatric patients with acute burn injuries treated in our outpatient clinic.
Methods: Charts of patients 0 to 18, seen in our clinic from 2008 to through 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. 954 patients were identified. 830 patients were treated for acute burn injuries as outpatients. Charts were reviewed for demographic data, burn characteristics, number of clinic visits, time to 90% epithelization, and complications.
Results: Mean time of burn injury to evaluation in our clinic was 1.8 days with 64% of patients being evaluated within 1 day of injury. 36% of patients were under the age of 2. Scalds accounted for 53% the burn mechanism, with burns to the hand/wrist being the most frequent area involved. The mean TBSA was 1.4% . Mean time to healing was 13.4 days. 6 patients had subsequent admissions. 3 patients had concern for infection. 8 patients were ultimately treated with excision and grafting.
Conclusions: This is the first study to document a large cohort of pediatric burns treated as an outpatient. The vast majority of pediatric burns are small, although they may often involve more concerning areas such as the face and hand. Complication rate and admission rates were < 1%. Most pediatric burns can be evaluated and safely treated on an outpatient basis.
