ASSESSMENT OF THE PREVALENCE AND MANAGEMENT OUTCOME OF PEDIATRIC BURN INJURY IN ADDIS ABABA BURN EMERGENCY AND TRAUMA HOSPITAL, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: - Burn injuries constitute a major public health problem and are the leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. Pediatric burns have a long-term social impact. This is more apparent in a developing country such as Ethiopia, where their incidence and morbidity are high. Very little is known about burn injuries in Ethiopia. The aim of this study is to provide recent retrospective epidemiological data on pediatric burns in Ethiopia and to suggest future preventive strategies. Objective: - This paper aims to assess the prevalence and management outcome of pediatric burn injury in Addis Ababa Burn, Emergency, and Trauma (AaBET) Hospital, Ethiopia. Methods: - This research was based in Addis Ababa Burn, Emergency and Trauma (AaBET) Hospital, Ethiopia and it was a retrospective institutional based cross-sectional study. The data was collected from pediatric patients’ data who were evaluated during a two-year period from 2016 to 2018. All pediatric patient files with assessment of burn injury was retrieved and data was collected on the data collection instrument. The data was then filled on SPSS 21.0. Appropriate analysis of different sociodemographic characteristics was done. The results were presented using graphs and tables. Possible associations were evaluated using chi-square method. A p-value less than 0.05 will be considered as statistically significant association. Results: - A total of 140 children with major burns were seen, 70 were males and 70 were females. The ages ranged from 6 months to 15 years with mean age of 4.7 years. 72.1% of the cases occurred among children under five years of age. Scald were the leading cause of burns, occurring in 70% of the cases. The TBSA ranged from 4% to 70% with mean TBSA of 12.92%. The mortality rate was 5.7%. Conclusion: - the study showed that pediatric burns vary across age in which the under five children were more susceptible to burn injuries. The predominant cause of burn was scald. The mortality rate is relatively higher compared with other studies. The level of awareness about burns prevention among the population and health care facilities should be improved.