Presentation description

Burn injuries disproportionately impact children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with the highest incidence in Sub-Saharan Africa. The mortality rate of pediatric burn injuries is seven times higher in LMICs than in high-income countries. However, there is limited data that shows what exactly increases the risk of mortality and morbidity in pediatric burn injury patients.
Using an existing pediatric injury registry at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Northern Tanzania, our project aims to evaluate if burn severity (using total body surface area), age, and sex are associated with an increase in mortality and morbidity, in pediatric burn patients.
In this quantitative study, we analyzed pediatric burn patients less than 18 years old who presented with an acute burn injury that occurred less than 30 days before presentation. We summarized patient demographics, acute presentation information, care details, and outcomes using descriptive statistics. Differences in these statistics by burn severity were assessed and regression modeling was used to determine outcome associations.
We enrolled a total of 92 pediatric burn injury patients from November 2020 to July 2023. 55.4% were females and the majority were 0-5 years old (84.8%, N=78). The mortality rate was 22.8% (N=21). Pediatric burn injury patients with severe burns had a higher mortality rate of 48.6%, and children with severe burns had a 8.0 higher odds of dying than those with mild or moderate burns (p=0.002). The factors associated with in-hospital morbidity and mortality were burn severity, length of stay, ICU admission, and abnormal Glasgow Coma Score.
The mortality rate of pediatric burn patients in our cohort was high, especially in children with severe burns. In order to reduce morbidity and mortality, interventions should be developed that target children with severe burns, longer lengths of stay, and abnormal mental status at presentation.