Pediatric burns: They are not always what they appear

Abstract

Recent reports have indicated that in the USA alone there are approximately two million burn injuries every year, resulting in 70,000 inpatient admissions involving over 30,000 children. Estimates are that between 1,000 and 5,000 deaths per year are related to burns in children. Along with the elderly, children have the highest rates of death from thermal injuries. Fortunately, medical treatment has advanced over the years and it is now widely acknowledged that achieving a good clinical outcome in a patient with significant burn injuries is achievable. However, this requires early and accurate diagnosis followed by a program involving aggressive treatment. This learning came from long clinical observations that once burn injuries are allowed to progress into fixed deformities they can be difficult, challenging and expensive to treat, frequently resulting in permanent limitations in both form and function. Both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation is now considered necessary since together they have proven to play a significant role in achieving acceptable outcomes for both adult and pediatric burn patients. Burn scars pose a problem in either functional loss or cosmesis since they frequently result in thick keloid formation on the skin and often need surgical evaluation. Even with aggressive treatment, this evaluation often leads to required reconstructive surgical intervention aimed at either restoring lost anatomic structures such as the ears, eyelids and nose or increased range of motion. © 2008 Springer New York.