PEDIATRIC BURNS IN UNIVERSITY CLINICAL CENTRE OF KOSOVO FROM 2011-2015

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of burn-related injuries in children <15 years in Kosovo, and compare incidence and cause of burns with our previous study conducted over the period 2005-2010 on children with burn injuries of the same age group. This was a retrospective study of pediatric patients (n=277) admitted to the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015. We analyzed data on gender, age, cause, location, burn size (TBSA), depth of injury, seasonality, duration of hospitalization and treatment of burn-related injuries, collected from the medical records available in the archives of the University Clinical Centre of Pristina. The patients were categorized into three age groups: infants and toddlers (0-2 years), early childhood (3-6 years) and late childhood (7-15 years). Data were analyzed applying descriptive statistics, Chi-square. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. During the study period 2011-2015, in our population, burns in children were predominant in boys, with 166 cases (59.9%), while 111 patients were girls (40.1%). The incidence of extensive burns in childhood remains high, although we have seen a slight decrease compared to the previous 5-year study period.